Blue Cotinga: Canopy Tower, Panama, July 2022 — One of the most sought after birds of any visit to the Canopy Tower (or elsewhere in Panama) is the Blue Cotinga. It features in the Canopy Family logos, on their tee-shirts, and on the covers of their publications. If you look at the range maps, the Blue Cotinga has a very limited range, from Central Panama down along the lowlands of the extreme northwest corner of South America in both directions. I forget, between Cotinga sightings, just how big many Cotingas are. They are certainly much closer to the size of a Crow than they are to a Tanager. When I was at the Tower, the male had not been seen for several weeks, and it visited us only for a few moments one morning before the mist at canopy level had burned off. Still, it eventually came in close enough to the observation deck around the old radar dome at the top of the tower for a few good shots. The Blue makes my 3rd Cotinga: Lovely in Honduras, Snowy in both Costa Rica and Panama (north-east Panama in Bocas del Toro), and the Blue at Canopy Tower (and that is not counting the Fruiteaters, Fruitcrows, Cock-of-the-rocks, and umbrella birds I have seen, which are also members of the 66 speices family of Cotingas). Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 400 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus 1EV exposure compensation.