Birds
Umbrellabird
Cephalopterus · also called umbrellabirds
A male umbrellabird perches in the rainforest canopy and inflates a long, feathered pendant hanging from his throat, while a dense forward crest shades his bill like a small awning. The overall effect is a silhouette unlike almost any other bird, built entirely around getting one deep, booming call to carry as far as possible.
Overview
The umbrellabird, genus Cephalopterus, is a large cotinga relative found in tropical rainforest across Central and South America. Males display an inflatable throat wattle and forward-projecting crest, used together with a deep booming call to attract females.
Built for one dramatic display
Nearly every unusual feature of a male umbrellabird’s appearance, from the shading crest to the pendant wattle, exists to support a single low, resonant call, a display so specialised that females look almost like an entirely different species by comparison.
Status
Vulnerable — declining in parts of its range as ongoing deforestation reduces the tropical rainforest habitat the species depends on.
Umbrellabird: common questions
Why does a male umbrellabird have such an unusual throat wattle?
A male umbrellabird uses his long, feathered throat wattle, which he can inflate with air to increase its size and prominence, as a key visual and acoustic display feature during courtship, helping amplify his deep booming call and making him more noticeable to females within dense rainforest.
Does the female umbrellabird look the same as the male?
No, female umbrellabirds lack the male's dramatically inflated throat wattle and forward-projecting crest, generally appearing considerably plainer and darker overall, a pronounced difference between the sexes that is typical of bird species where the male has evolved elaborate features specifically for courtship display.
What does the umbrellabird's call sound like?
A male umbrellabird produces a deep, low-frequency booming call, partly amplified by his inflated throat wattle, a distinctive sound used to attract females from a distance within the dense tropical rainforest habitat the species inhabits.
Why is the umbrellabird considered vulnerable?
Umbrellabird populations have declined in parts of their range primarily due to ongoing deforestation affecting the tropical rainforest habitat the species depends on, with the severity of range loss varying by specific species and region across Central and South America, making continued habitat protection an important conservation priority.