Cotingas: Cotingidae

Cotingas have evolved large mouths that can open wide in order to eat fruit and other berries. Smaller species eat fruits almost exclusively. Larger species also eat insects, especially when fruits are less available. The seeds inside many fruits pass unharmed through the digestive system of the birds. Smaller seeds are eliminated. Larger seeds are regurgitated (re-GER-jih-tate-ud), vomited. The birds help to spread the seeds over a large area, increasing the range and diversity of plants in the areas where they live.