Turquoise Cotinga

Cotinga ridgwayi

eBird provides this description for the Turquoise Cotinga:  Unmistakable in range: male is stunning electric-blue with purple patch on throat and belly. Female completely different; pale grayish with heavy spotting below and scaling on back. Note shape: rather plump and short-tailed with small bill and large eye. Tends to be slow-moving, perching obviously atop the canopy or inconspicuously feeding within a fruiting tree. Found in forested areas, singly or in pairs.

The Birds of the World website introduces the Turquoise Cotinga with this descriptive information:  The Turquoise Cotinga is a spectacularly colored songbird of Costa Rica and western Panama.  It occurs in humid forest canopy, primarily in the lowlands in Costa Rica but up to 1600 meters in Panama.  Males are a fantastic metallic blue overall with a purple throat and lower belly and primarily blackish wings and tail, while females are dusky above and buffy below with black spotting below and white spotting on the head.  The species is considered to be vulnerable by the IUCN Red List due to the threat of deforestation within its range, especially in Panama.

I met and photographed my first Turquoise Cotinga mid-afternoon on February 9, 2023.  This beautiful bird was perched high atop the canopy across from the police station in Isidro, Costa Rica.  I am really glad I got to experience this stunning bird!