Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
His vocalizations—a series of hoots, growls, and chimp-like whimpers—accompany a ritual-
ized shake of an unusual cowlick and rump. The bird's name, dare one ask, is a reference to
its habit of nesting in rock walls rather than some biological double entendre.
Three male Andean cocks-of-the-rock (
Rupicola peruvianus
) singing, with a female in the
background
The male's extravagant appearance flares when several of them gather in the dank, kal-
eidoscopic undergrowth. As the dawn light filters through the tropical highland forest of
Peru, colorful bachelors scramble to their singing perches on nearby tree branches. Biologists
describe the location of the courtship that ensues as a lek, a place where males congregate
to advertise their individual greatness. One bird triggers an explosion of song and dance that
lasts for minutes. Just as suddenly, they all go mute. Perhaps the shadow of an eagle has
passed overhead? Then the cacophony resumes in earnest. Soon a drab maroon bird slips into
the center of the gathering, sparking a more intense bout of singing and feather shaking. The
female has arrived.
By 6:45 a.m., the males had quieted down and dropped into the dense foliage. I left the
bird blind with my guides and strolled down the dirt highway to the nearby lodge. It's hard to
avoid descending into cliché after witnessing a lek display of any bird or mammal. For me,
it was a lifelong yearning now sated, replaced by a sense of awe in how evolution and the
essential mission to procreate can go to such lengths.
My group enjoyed a celebratory breakfast in the café of the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge. Ac-
cessible cock-of-the-rock leks in nature, such as the one we visited, are rare and usually
reached only after a long hike. Over a second cup of coffee, the conversation spun in a widen-
