Andean cock-of-the-rock

Andean cock-of-the-rock
Male R. p. sanguinolentus, Colombia
Female (nominate)
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Cotingidae
Genus:	Rupicola
Species:	R. peruvianus
Binomial name
Rupicola peruvianus (Latham, 1790)
Subspecies
See text

The Andean cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola peruvianus), also known as tunki (Quechua),^[3] is a large passerine bird of the cotinga family native to Andean cloud forests in South America. It is the national bird of Peru. It has four subspecies and its closest relative is the Guianan cock-of-the-rock.

The Andean cock-of-the-rock exhibits marked sexual dimorphism; the male has a large disk-like crest and scarlet or brilliant orange plumage, while the female is significantly darker and browner. Gatherings of males compete for breeding females with each male displaying his colourful plumage, bobbing and hopping, and making a variety of calls. After mating, the female makes a nest under a rocky overhang, incubates the eggs, and rears the young by herself.

The Andean cock-of-the-rock eats a diet of fruit, supplemented by insect, amphibian, reptile, and smaller mice. It is distributed all across the cloud forest of the Andes, having a range of around 260,000 km² (100,000 sq mi). Even though it is being affected by the destruction of its habitat, the Andean cock-of-the-rock is not classified as threatened.