Becard

Pachyramphus
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
  • Bathmidura
  • Pachyrhamphus Strickland, 1841
  • Platypsaris

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]

Former species

Some authorities, either presently or formerly, recognize several additional species as belonging to the genus Pachyramphus including:

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

  1. ↑ Adopt the Family Tityridae Archived 2008-05-08 at the Wayback Machine. – South American Classification Committee (2007)
  2. ↑ "Cotingas, manakins, tityras & becards « IOC World Bird List". www.worldbirdnames.org. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  3. ↑ "Asthenes dorbignyi - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  4. 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
  5. ↑ 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.
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