Slaty Becard
Pachyramphus spodiurus
This flycatcher-like bird of western Ecuador and northwestern Peru can be tough to identify with certainty due to its similarity with the slightly larger One-colored Becard. On male, look for white fringes to some of the wing feathers and a faint, pale spot between the eye and bill. On female, this pale spot is harder to see, but she tends to have a warmer, more tawny-colored breast. Voice is also a good clue: Slaty Becard often gives a ringing, raspy trill. Most common in dry and semi-humid forest but also locally found in humid forest.
Identification
They have grey plumage. Their breast is a rather pale shade of grey. They have a black eye and dark grey beak.
Taxonomy
Genus: Pachyramphus; Family: Tityridae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Pachyramphus spodiurus
- Authority
- Sclater, PL, 1860
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Tityridae
- Genus
- Pachyramphus
Range and habitat
It is found in Ecuador and far northern Peru. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Unmistakable black flowerpiercer with a bold white mustache and a reddish vent. Some subspecies have a variable red and white chest patch. Sexes similar. Resembles a tanager with a slender hooked bill, and tends to hold its body horizontal as it forages in low shrubs in humid habitats around and above the treeline. Its song is a rapid, jumbled series of high whistles.
Gray-headed Kite
Leptodon cayanensis
Scarce hawk of lowland tropical forest. Perches mainly in the canopy, at times giving a long, laughing call. In flight, the wingbeats are loose and floppy. When soaring the wings are held rather level. Adult is distinctive, with a soft gray head, dark eyes (no yellow in the face, unlike most hawks), and rather small grayish feet. Immature has several plumage types, all with 2–3 broad, pale-gray tail bands. One type has a dark brown head and upperparts and whitish underparts with dark streaking; another has a white head and underparts with a small dark cap.
Empress Brilliant
Heliodoxa imperatrix
Impressive hummingbird of Andean cloud forest in northwestern Ecuador and western Colombia. Large, thick-billed, and long-tailed, with golden sheen on the belly. Male has a violet throat patch, and female has white on throat and breast. Young birds have a rusty wash on face and throat. Favors very wet, epiphyte-laden forest, and visits feeders in some areas.
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