The Story
I photographed this Guianan Cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola rupicola) at the Puerta de Orión, near San José del Guaviare, Guaviare, Colombia, in February 2021. It is a stout cotinga about 30 centimeters long, and it lives in tropical rainforest near rocky outcrops, its preferred habitat. Males are bright orange with a prominent half-moon crest, while females are dark brownish gray with a smaller crest and nest in rocky areas. Both sexes have orange legs. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L, at 1/350 sec, f/6.7, ISO 6400, +1 EV. The Puerta de Orión is a stone arch 15 meters wide and 12 meters high, about 9 kilometers from San José del Guaviare, and people there say Orion’s Belt can be seen through its upper opening in December.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Guianan Cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola rupicola) belongs to the family Cotingidae (Cotingas) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2025), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List