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Masked Fruiteater | Pipreola pulchra
Maskercotinga | Frutero enmascarado | Anambé-mascarado
The Masked Fruiteater is a small fruit-eater found only in Peru, in montane forest on the eastern slope of the Andes. The male has a black mask and an orange-red breast patch on otherwise green and yellow plumage. In central and southern Peru it replaces Black-chested Fruiteater from further north.
Voice
Very high, thin, rising tseeee notes.
Recording: Gareth K. — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto
Identification
18 cm, with a short tail, a red bill and a pale iris. The male has a green crown and upperparts; the face and throat form a black mask. On the breast is an orange-red patch, grading into yellow at the sides and below; the belly is yellow, the flanks streaked green. The female is green above and has yellow underparts densely streaked green, without black or orange.
Confusion species
The male Black-chested Fruiteater Pipreola lubomirskii has an entirely black head and breast without orange; that species lives further north. The male Scarlet-breasted Fruiteater Pipreola frontalis lacks a black mask and has a red to orange throat and breast; that species on average lives lower. The male Green-and-black Fruiteater Pipreola riefferii has an entirely black head without an orange breast.
Habitat
Humid montane forest and cloud forest on the eastern slope, also forest edges, at roughly 1500 to 2500 m. It eats mainly fruit and berries, and also insects. It often sits quietly in the middle storey and joins mixed flocks.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of the Andes and the west coast.
Range and movements
Only in Peru: on the eastern slope of the Andes, from San Martín and Huánuco in the north and centre to Cuzco in the south. Absent from Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and the Galápagos. Does not occur outside the guide area.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
In montane forest on the eastern slope in central and southern Peru, such as along the road to Manú, in mixed flocks. Listen for the high call and scan the middle storey for a motionless bird.
Conservation status
Least Concern. Locally fairly common within a limited range; montane forest on the eastern slope is still largely intact.
Scientific name
Pipreola pulchra | (Hellmayr, 1917)
Hellmayr described the species in 1917 as Euchlornis pulchra; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Pipreola was introduced in 1838 by Swainson. The genus name is a Latin diminutive of the genus Pipra (manakins). The species name is Latin pulcher, 'pretty, handsome'. The specimen the first description was based on came from Tulumayo, Junín, Peru.