Blue Cotinga

Blue Cotinga

Cotinga nattererii

Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Utría National Natural Park

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%

7 Verified sightings at Utría National Natural Park From 2019 to 2026
2,485 In all 5 parks
January Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Blue Cotinga

The blue cotinga (Cotinga nattererii) is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae. It is found in Colombia, north-west Ecuador, eastern to western Panama and western Venezuela in tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest. In relation to range and population size this species is not considered to be vulnerable.

The blue cotinga is a plump, dove-like bird with a small head. It grows to a length of about 7 inches (18 cm). The male has glossy blue plumage and a black bib with a purple iridescent sheen on the throat and breast. There is a black ring round the eye, and the wings and tail are black with broad blue margins. On the belly there is a circular patch of purple. The female looks quite different; she is dark brown above, each feather having a pale margin which gives the bird a scaly appearance, and the underparts are pale brown with each feather having a buff margin. The turquoise cotinga (Cotinga ridgwayi) is a similar species with which this bird might be confused, but it has a different range.

This species is native to Central America and South America. Its range extends from central Panama southwards to... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Wing noise0:11

Ecuador · 1997

© Olaf Jahn · XC262286 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~20%
2 Chagres National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~20%
3 Utría National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~10%
4 Darién National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
5 San Lorenzo Protected Forest 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Xcaret 🇲🇽 Mexico In captivity
2 Warsaw Zoo 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
3 Bird Paradise 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
4 Rainforest Wild Asia 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
5 herpetarium warszawskiego ZOO 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
6 akwarium warszawskiego ZOO 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
7 hipopotamiarnia i akwarium morskie warszawskiego ZOO 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Blue Cotinga in Utría National Natural Park?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Cotinga sighting in Utría National Natural Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 142nd most-seen of the 154 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Blue Cotinga in Utría National Natural Park?

January, May and September

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Cotinga in Utría National Natural Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–March, July–August and October–November, the lowest months. April, June and December have too few records to rate.

What time of day is best to see a Blue Cotinga?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue Cotinga sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Utría National Natural Park the best place to see a Blue Cotinga?

3rd of 5

Of the 5 parks where we can rate Blue Cotinga sightings, Utría National Natural Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Soberanía National Park (Panama, about 20%) and Chagres National Park (Panama, about 20%).

Which relatives of the Blue Cotinga live in Utría National Natural Park?

Same family: Cotingidae

The closest relatives of the Blue Cotinga that you can see in Utría National Natural Park (family Cotingidae, Cotingas) are Purple-throated Fruitcrow (about 30%), Black-tipped Cotinga (about 30%) and Masked Tityra (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Blue Cotinga sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Blue Cotinga is recorded against all the birds logged in Utría National Natural Park (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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