text: purple - throated cotinga the purple - throated cotinga ( porphyrolaema porphyrolaema ) is a species of bird in the cotinga family , cotingidae . it is found in the western amazonian region of south america ; its range extends from southern colombia south through eastern ecuador and peru and east through extreme northwestern bolivia and into western amazonian brazil . it lives in the canopy or along the borders of humid forest throughout its range . the purple - throated cotinga is monotypic within the genus porphyrolaema and has no known subspecies . it is one of the smaller cotinga species and expresses strong sexual dimorphism . males have black upperparts with a bold white and white edges to the tertial feathers and a white belly with some black barring on the rear flanks . the throat is a deep purple , giving the bird both its common and scientific names . females are dark brown with pale buffy margins on the upperparts , buffy cinnamon with black barring on the underparts , and rufous on the throat . the male has a powerful voice . little research has been done on this species , and not much is known about its ecology . the purple - throated cotinga is primarily frugivorous , although it does occasionally eat small insects . a solitary male attracts a female by perching in the canopy and letting the sunlight reflect off of its iridescent feathers . it is suspected to breed year - round and is non - migratory . despite being considered naturally uncommon or rare across its vast range , the purple - throated cotinga is listed as a species of least concern . taxonomy the purple - throated cotinga was originally described in 1852 as cotinga porphyrolaema by emile deville and philip sclater from a male specimen collected near the ucayali river in peru 's district . the holotype is kept at the jardin des plantes in paris . however , just two years later the species was split from the genus cotinga into the monotypic genus porphyrolaema by charles lucien bonaparte . the generic and specific name of porphyrolaema comes from the ancient greek words " dark purple , " and , " throat . " while it is structurally similar to the cotinga species , the purple - throated cotinga differs from them in that it has a heavier , bill , distinctive pale fringing on the back feathers , and barred underparts in the female . while it is still generally considered to be closely related to the cotinga species , recent molecular analysis has suggested that the species may in fact form a separate clade with other canopy - dwelling cotingas , specifically the neotropical bellbirds of the genus , the cotingas of the genus , the black - faced cotinga of the monotypic genus , and the bare - necked of the monotypic genus . of these genera , the molecular analysis suggested that the purple - throated cotinga was most closely related to the neotropical bellbirds . this cotinga does not have a recognized subspecies . description the purple - throated cotinga is strongly sexually dimorphic as male and female purple - throated cotingas have few similarities in their plumage . the male has black upperparts , including the head , wings , and tail . the feathers on the bird 's back to its uppertail coverts , as well as its upperwing coverts , have white fringes . there is also a conspicuous white and white edges to the tertial feathers . additionally the male has a deeply purple throat and a white belly , with some black barring on its rear flanks . in contrast , the female purple - throated cotinga is a dark brown with pale buffy margins on the upperparts . the underparts are a buffy cinnamon with black barring . the throat is a deeper , unbarred rufous in coloration . the female 's tail feathers are longer and more pointed at the tip than those of the male . the juvenile purple - throated cotinga resembles a paler , female ; the plumage of the immature is undescribed . the adult purple - throated cotinga is about 18 . 0 to 18 . 5 cm ( 7 . 1 to 7 . 3 in ) in length and weighs an average of 49 to 60 g ( 1 . 7 to 2 . 1 oz ) . the cotinga has a very wide bill with a strongly arched culmen and weakly developed rictal bristles . the bird 's iris is dark brown , while the bill and legs are black . this species has a powerful if infrequently - used voice , unlike the structurally - similar cotinga species , which are mostly silent . the male 's call is a high , plaintive " " that lasts for one or two seconds while dropping in pitch and is regularly repeated from a treetop perch . distribution and habitat the purple - throated cotinga is found from southern colombia south through eastern ecuador and peru to the madre de dios region and east through extreme northwestern bolivia and into western amazonian brazil . the eastern boundary of the species appears to be the lower rio negro and northern mato grosso in brazil . the purple - throated cotinga 's total range covers approximately 2 , 190 , 000 km2 ( 850 , 000 sq mi ) , throughout which it occurs in patches at low population densities . the cotinga can be found in the canopy or borders of humid forest up to 900 m ( 3 , 000 ft ) in elevation , but mostly is restricted to humid forests below 400 m ( 1 , 300 ft ) . it can be found in either unflooded humid forests or in várzea forests , which are seasonally flooded . it is non - migratory . ecology and behavior the purple - throated cotinga feeds primarily on the fruits of forest trees , most notably those belonging to the genus cecropia . it also occasionally consumes small invertebrates , such as insects . all reported observations of the species feeding involve the cotinga leaning down from its perch to pluck fruit off of a tree in the forest canopy . these birds are distinct from similar species in that they are often seen in pairs . this species perches in the canopy to take in the morning sun . a solitary male purple - throated cotinga attracts a female by perching above the canopy and letting the sun highlight its iridescent plumage . the breeding behavior of this species is largely unknown , but the range in molting times implies that this species may breed year - round . status the purple - throated cotinga is not well known and appears to be naturally uncommon or rare across a widespread area ; however , it is almost certainly under - reported due to its canopy lifestyle . the iucn considers this species to be a species of least concern due in part to its large range . while the iucn has not estimated the population size , it believes it is declining due to habitat loss .