The Bare-necked Umbrellabird is the second largest in its family of Cotingdae, and makes its home in the tropical lowland forests of Costa Rica.

Distribution

The Bare-necked Umbrellabird is found along the central mountain range from Northern Costa Rica and into Central Panama. It also makes residence on the Caribbean side of the mountain range into the Province of Límon in Costa Rica, and the Provinces of Bocas del Toro and Veraguas in Panama.

It inhabits lowland forests and premontane forests.

Mating & Reproduction

The Bare-necked Umbrellabird moves from lowland forest to the slightly higher elevations of the subtropical forests during its breeding season. The breeding season for Umbrellabirds is March to June, and the males will put on a display and vie for the affection of a female in an exploded lek.

The clutch of the Bare-necked Umbrellabirds is constituted of just one egg that is incubated for around 25 days. The baby is born blind and featherless in a well-constructed nest of twigs, leaves and other small forest items. The time in which a nestling fledges has not been determined with any kind of consistent data.

Behavior

The diet of the Bare-neck Umbrellabird apparently consist of fruit, small amphibians and insects which it forages for in the treetop canopy of the subtropical forest or the lowland forests where it congregates in the non-breeding season from July to February. The Umbrellabird is considered a more solitary bird, electing to travel individually rather than in flocks. This, however, changes somewhat in the breeding season when the male birds will perch in the same tree to draw on the affection of their female counterparts.

The Bare-necked Umbrellabird tears the fruit or animals it eats apart by picking it up and smashing it against a tree before ingesting.

Miscellaneous Info

The Bare-necked Umbrellabird is the largest passerine bird in Panama and Costa Rica, but the Amazonian Umbrellabird is larger. Passerine birds are differentiated from other birds by having three toes in the front and one in back. This facilitates perching with better ease, and passerine birds are often called perching birds.

The Umbrellabirds habitat is under threat of deforestation.

Locations in Costa Rica: Braulio Carrillo National Park, Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Cahuita National Park, La Amistad International Park
Diet: fruit, small amphibians, insects
Migration Pattern: slight migration from subtropical to lowland forest
Habitat: lowland forest, premontane forest
Size: length=36-41 cm weight=320-450 g (females are smaller than males)
Species: Cephalopterus glabricollis