Andean Cock-of-the-rock

The Andean Cock-of-the-rock is a medium sized bird, living in the Andes, from Venezuela South to Bolivia. It’s one of the most spectacular birds, with strikingly bright colours. Spottingthis beautiful bird is not very common, though, as they’re extremely shy and don’t usually fly near humans.

It’s notable that both the sexes look very different, the most spectacular being the males – they have large, disk-like crests and bright orange plumage, black wings and orange to yellow bill, while the females are much darker, usually brown and their crest is much smaller and their beaks are brown with a yellow tip. The Andean Cock-of-the-rock is usually about 32 cm long, males being larger than females.

A Cock-of-the-rock male

These spectacular birds feed mostly on fruit and insects, and the occasional frog or lizard. The Andean Cock-of-the-rock females build builds nests on rock faces of cliffs, steep gorges or caves, solely on their own, mud plastering them to the rocks. All the nesting is done solely by females without the help of males.

Mature males spend much of their time in leks, which are communal courtship sites, where many males gather and practice their “mating dance”. This ritual consists of challenging a rival male for displaying their force, by flapping wings, jumping, running around, nodding and giving off a variety of sqawking and grunting calls. When females visit the lek, these “mating dances” become even more intense, more loud and often turn into a display of bright colours and loud, strange sounds. After this, the female chooses the most impressive male to mate with. It is also notable, that due to defecation of seeds by the males, leks are often rich in vegetation.

Many Cock-of-the-rock males gather in leks

The hen typically lays two white eggs in the nest, which she incubates herself for about 28 days. When the young hatch, she nurses them alone, without the help of male. During this time the Andean Cock-of-the-rock males have gone back to the lek, in search of another female partner.  Most of the males’ life revolves around activities in the lek, challenging rivals, practicing their “mating dances” and atracting females, while most of the females’ life concentrates upon nesting and incubating the eggs.

The Andean Cock-of-the-rock is the national bird of Peru for it’s beautiful plumage, resembling a bird from the paradise. Being shy, however, it has been proven difficult to keep track of their population and little is know about their current status. Seeing no signs of their population being threatened, the IUCN has evaluated them as “Least Concern”.

Being one of the most beautiful birds, the Andean Cock-of-the-rock is one of the nature’s wonders. Although this bird is shy and elusive, some photographs of it have been taken, allowing more people see it’s amazing beauty.