Just when I thought I'd seen every color a bird could be, I got surprised again.
Not that birds don't come in countless varieties, but most seem to trend towards combinations of the primary and secondary color spectrum. I didn't expect to stumble across a bird whose hue wouldn't be easily categorized into a specific color group.
In some lighting, you might call the color red or purple, but there's a luminescent quality that doesn't quite fit under either category.
Magenta is probably the closest, but since magenta isn't real, the fact that the cotinga's hue is similar is still incredible. Burgundy is also a close shade. (Yes, I'm a color theory nerd.)
They eat primarily fruit, supplemented occasionally by insects, and while they are known to have an elaborate mating display, no one has successfully recorded its details beyond the fact that males chase each other to show dominance.
The differences between males and females of the species are very strong, with the females being described as a "dumpy gray" bird.
At first, it was assumed that the structural color of the feathers was blue, with a red carotenoid protein mingling to create the burgundy shade.
However, with advancements in research technology it was discovered that the birds have no structural color at all, and the hue is the result of a mix of up to eight different carotenoids combining.
Thankfully, the species isn't currently under immediate threat of extinction, so scientists have plenty of opportunity to learn more about them, their lives, and their amazing color.
