Systematics

Lovely Cotinga is monotypic.

Described as Cotinga amabilis by Gould (1857), with a type locality of Guatemala; the type locality later was restricted to Verapaz by Zimmer (Snow 1979).

Cotinga amabilis often is considered to form a superspecies with Cotinga ridgwayi (Turquoise Cotinga) and Cotinga nattererii (Blue Cotinga) (Snow 1979, Kirwan and Green 2011). Snow (2004) suggested that this superspecies could be expanded to also include Cotinga maynana (Plum-throated Cotinga), Cotinga cotinga (Purple-breasted Cotinga), and Cotinga maculata (Banded Cotinga). Hellmayr (1929: 105) suggested that amabilis, ridgwayi, and nattererii were "nearly [= closely] related to, and probably conspecific with" maynana; and Meyer de Schauensee (1966: 310) suggested that amabilis, ridgwayi, and nattererii together constituted a single species.

There is no phylogeny of the genus Cotinga. For that matter, phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequence data, from both nuclear and mitochondrial genes, does not yet yield a consensus on the relationships of Cotinga. Ohlson et al. (2007) identified Cotinga as a member of a large assemblage of genera, also including Lipaugus, Tijuca, Porphyrolaema, Procnias, Carpodectes, Conioptilon, Gymnoderus, Haematoderus, Querula, Pyroderus, Cephalopterus, and Perissicocephalus, but did not resolve the relationships of Cotinga within this group. In contrast, Tello et al. (2009) identify Procnias and Cotinga as sister taxa, with this clade as sister to Haematoderus, Querula, Pyroderus, Cephalopterus, and Perissicocephalus.