Neotropical bellbird

Neotropical bellbird (or simply bellbird) is the common name given to passerine birds of the genus Procnias, found in the Neotropics. They are members of the cotinga family. They are all restricted to tropical or subtropical humid forested regions, often in low mountains or foothills. As indicated by their common name, they all have extremely loud calls that are reminiscent of a metal bell being rung.

Neotropical bellbird
Bearded bellbird (Procnias averano)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Cotingidae
Genus:	Procnias Illiger, 1811
Type species
Ampelis variegata[1] Gmelin, 1789
Species
Procnias albus Procnias averano Procnias nudicollis Procnias tricarunculata

Three of the four species are restricted to South America, while the last, the three-wattled bellbird, is restricted to southern Central America.^[2]

They are strongly sexually dimorphic. Males have an at least partially white plumage, and facial wattles or bare facial skin. Females lack the wattles/bare facial skin, and are overall olive with yellowish streaks below.^[2]

Taxonomy

The genus Procnias was introduced in 1811 by the German zoologist Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger.^[3] The name comes from Greek mythology, Procne was an Athenian princess who was metamorphosed into a swallow.^[4] The type species was designated as the bearded bellbird by George Gray in 1840.^[5][6]

The genus contains four species.^[7]

Genus Procnias – Illiger, 1811 – four species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Three-wattled bellbird	Procnias tricarunculatus (Verreaux & Verreaux, 1853)	Costa Rica, to eastern Honduras, Nicaragua and western Panama	Size: Habitat: Diet:	VU
White bellbird	Procnias albus (Hermann, 1783)	Guianas, Venezuela and Brazil (Pará)	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Bearded bellbird	Procnias averano (Hermann, 1783) Two subspecies P. a. averano P. a. carnobarba	Venezuela and adjacent parts of Colombia and Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago and northeastern Brazil	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Bare-throated bellbird	Procnias nudicollis (Vieillot, 1817)	Atlantic forest and adjacent moist areas	Size: Habitat: Diet:	NT

References

1. "Cotingidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
2. Snow, David W. (2004). "Family Cotingidae (Cotingas)". In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Christie, D.A. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 9: Cotingas to Pipits and Wagtails. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions. pp. 32–108 [104–105]. ISBN 978-84-87334-69-6.
3. Illiger, Johann Karl Wilhelm (1811). Prodromus systematis mammalium et avium (in Latin). Berolini [Berlin]: Sumptibus C. Salfeld. p. 228.
4. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 317. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
5. Gray, George Robert (1840). A List of the Genera of Birds : with an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus. London: R. and J.E. Taylor. p. 34.
6. Traylor, Melvin A. Jr, ed. (1979). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 8. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 305.
7. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Cotingas, manakins, tityras, becards". IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 7 December 2021.

Further reading

• Snow, D.W. (1982). The Cotingas: Bellbirds, Umbrella birds and their allies. British Museum Press. ISBN 0-19-858511-X