The Andean Cock-of-the-Rock certainly is one of the strangest looking birds on the planet, and it has been high on my list to see.
I set up my camera on this lek, tucked in the forest on a small point jutting out over the confluence of two rivers, and waited. I could just barely see two males with bright red head through the trees, and suddenly a female flew by and out of sight. This changed the game. Suddenly, I could see and hear 8 males energetically bowing, strutting, jumping, and flapping their wings, all in an eager attempt to win her attention