The Red-Ruffed Fruitcrow Bird Looks Like It Is Wearing A Fluffy Red Scarf

This bird is wearing a nice warm scarf!

Rachel

• Published in Animal Stories
• November 7, 2021

Birds are an incredibly important part of our ecosystem, yet unfortunately, they get overlooked and are mostly thought of as being noisy nuisances that make a mess everywhere. Then again, it is considered to be good luck if a bird *ahem*, in the politest way possible, makes a mess and does its business in such a way that it lands on you—although it certainly doesn’t feel lucky!

Nevertheless, birds are an essential part of life on planet Earth. Incredibly, they are both a predator and also prey, which means that they eat a load of insects and bugs, but are also food for some bigger animals, too.

They are also essential for food production, not only do birds eat insects that eat crops and other nuts and berries, because they pick up and carry a lot of seeds, they quite often carry fruit and other seeds and plant them for us. This is just one of many super cute things that birds do.

The bird of the day today is called the red-ruffed fruitcrow and it certainly lives up to its name, by being both red, and having some hands on dealings with fruit! Check it out, and learn some fun facts about this cool bird below!

Meet the red-ruffed fruitcrow!

The scientific and fancy name for a red-ruffed fruit crow is the Pyroderus scutatus. Here is some more fancy information, it is a species of bird in the monotypic genus Pyroderus, belonging to the family Cotingidae.

The red-ruffed fruitcrow is, funnily enough, mostly black in color. Except, it has a magnificent, red throat and a breast that is mostly orange. This makes it look like it is wearing a bright red fluffy scarf. The bill and feet of this quirky bird is a pale blue color. Some subspecies of this bird are more brown than red. Male red-ruffled fruitcrow’s chests tend to fade more towards orange, than red.

There is not a huge difference between male and female birds, but females tend to be smaller.

This species is native to South America, and is widely spread across the region. It can be found in the Tepuis in Venezuela and Guyana, the east Andean slopes in Peru, Andean slopes in north-western Ecuador, Colombia and western Venezuela, as well as in the Atlantic Forest in south-eastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, and far north-eastern Argentina.

It goes without saying that the names for the red-ruffled fruitcrow are different in Spanish, and some of these names include: yacutoro, toropisco montañero, sangretoro, pájaro torero, and cuervo-frutero de garganta roja.

Red-ruffled fruitcrows love humid areas, and they are found in humid forests and highlands.

The birds have a wide-ranging diet. They like to eat fruit, insects and lizards.

Their favorite thing to eat, however, is fruit!

Breeding is high competition for the red-ruffled fruitcrow! During breeding season, the males of this species gather to compete for attention from the females.

They manage to build a shallow cup-shaped nest made from twigs and fern fronds. They usually lay only one egg. When the babies start to eat, to begin with; they mostly eat insects and lizards, but as they age they transition to eating mostly fruit.

They are a low-density species, meaning that they are spread over a wide area. As such, they are not currently at risk of extinction.

However, many areas are beginning to experience higher levels of deforestation, which can lead to a reduction in bird populations. There is also a correlation between the decline in these birds and the number of new fruit in the area, as, since fewer seeds are being eaten, digested, and then returned to nature, there is a decrease in the spread of fruit and crops—which, if it persists can lead to problems in food security in the region.

Check out this video of the red-ruffed fruitcrow below!

The red-ruffed fruitcrow is an incredible example of how birds have a great impact on the wider ecosystem. What is more, the bird looks super smart with its scarf-like coloring around its neck.

Although, given the fact that it lives spread widely across humid areas of South America, it is unlikely to need to wear the scarf, given it is probably quite warm there! It is when learning about stories like these that we remember that nature is magnificent, and there is so much more out there than what we can see in our own backyards.

Do you think this bird is cool? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!

H/T: One Big Bird Cage

Rachel