Becard
| Pachyramphus | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Chestnut-crowned becard | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Tityridae |
| Genus: | Pachyramphus Gould & G.R. Gray, 1839 |
| Species | |
|
See text. | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
A becard is a bird of the genus Pachyramphus in the family Tityridae.
Taxonomy and systematics
The genus had traditionally been placed in Cotingidae or Tyrannidae, but evidence strongly suggests that it is better placed in the family Tityridae, where it is now placed by the IOC.[1]
Extant species
The genus contains seventeen species:[2]
- Green-backed becard (Pachyramphus viridis)
- Yellow-cheeked becard (Pachyramphus xanthogenys)
- Barred becard (Pachyramphus versicolor)
- Slaty becard (Pachyramphus spodiurus)
- Cinereous becard (Pachyramphus rufus)
- Chestnut-crowned becard (Pachyramphus castaneus)
- Cinnamon becard (Pachyramphus cinnamomeus)
- White-winged becard (Pachyramphus polychopterus)
- Black-capped becard (Pachyramphus marginatus)
- Black-and-white becard (Pachyramphus albogriseus)
- Grey-collared becard (Pachyramphus major)
- Glossy-backed becard (Pachyramphus surinamus)
- One-colored becard (Pachyramphus homochrous)
- Pink-throated becard (Pachyramphus minor)
- Crested becard (Pachyramphus validus)
- Rose-throated becard (Pachyramphus aglaiae)
- Jamaican becard (Pachyramphus niger)
Former species
Some authorities, either presently or formerly, recognize several additional species as belonging to the genus Pachyramphus including:
- Rusty-vented canastero (as Bathmidura Dorbignyi)[3]
Description
The becards are characterized by their large heads with a slight crest.[4] The smaller members of this genus have graduated tails and most members are sexually dimorphic, although the cinnamon becard[4] and the chestnut-crowned becard have similar plumages for the males and females. Juvenile becards resemble the adult females in plumage and, as far as known, obtain their adult plumage after about a year.[4] The bills of the becards are grey, and many (but not all) have a black culmen or upper mandible. Their legs are dark gray.[4]
Distribution and habitat
They are primarily found in Central and South America, but the rose-throated becard occurs as far north as southern United States and, as suggested by its common name, the Jamaican becard is restricted to Jamaica.[5] Depending on the species, they are found in wooded habitats ranging from open woodland to the dense canopy of rainforests.
Breeding
The nest of a becard is a bulky globular mass of dead leaves, mosses, and fibers with the entrance near the bottom of the nest.[4] Nests are typically wedged or slung from the outer branches of trees at the mid or upper levels.[4]
References
- ↑ Adopt the Family Tityridae Archived 2008-05-08 at the Wayback Machine. – South American Classification Committee (2007)
- ↑ "Cotingas, manakins, tityras & becards « IOC World Bird List". www.worldbirdnames.org. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
- ↑ "Asthenes dorbignyi - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Howell, Steve N.G.; Webb, Sophie (1995), A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America, New York: Oxford University Press, p. 520, ISBN 0-19-854012-4
- ↑ Miller, Eliot T.; Wagner, Sarah K.; Klavins, Juan; Brush, Timothy; Greeney, Harold F. (16 March 2015). "Striking Courtship Displays in the Becard Clade Platypsaris" (PDF). The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 127 (1): 123–126. doi:10.1676/14-030.1.