Red-banded Fruiteater
Pipreola whitelyi
Plump, medium-sized bird of mossy highland forests. Note red-orange bill, legs, and eyes. Plumage of both male and female are unique in range. Males are mostly greenish-gray above with contrasting brown wings and crown; they are gray below with a prominent red breast band merging into a yellow collar. Females are greenish above with a yellow nape patch, and white below with prominent green streaking from chin to belly. Found only in tepui highlands (above 1000 m) where it inhabits middle and upper levels of wet forests and seems to prefer those with heavy growth of mosses and epiphytes. As its name implies, eats fruit and is most reliably seen at fruiting trees and shrubs. Otherwise, pairs are unobtrusive, moving sluggishly between perches and sitting still for long periods; may sometimes follow mixed-species flocks. Distinctive song is a long (3–4 sec.), very high, thin whistle, falling then rising in pitch, and given at long intervals; pair contact calls are short peeping notes.
Identification
The red-banded fruiteater grows to a length of about 16.6 cm (6.5 in). The adult male has greyish-green upper parts with a distinctive long golden stripe that runs above the eye and round the ear-coverts. The chin and belly are grey and there is a broad, orange-red chest collar, and yellowish-ochre under-tail coverts. The female has similar head markings, a yellowish patch at the side of the neck, and moss-green upper parts. There is no chest collar and the underparts are greyish-white, boldly streaked with black. The beak and legs are pinkish-grey; the male has an orange iris and the female's is ochre. The song, a high-pitched hissing trill lasting for several seconds, is seldom uttered.
Taxonomy
Genus: Pipreola; Family: Cotingidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Pipreola whitelyi
- Authority
- Salvin & Godman, 1884
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Cotingidae
- Genus
- Pipreola
Range and habitat
The red-banded fruiteater is found in the tropical forests of Guyana and Venezuela. Its altitudinal range is from 1,200 to 2,250 metres (3,900 to 7,400 ft) above sea level.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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