White-winged Becard
Pachyramphus polychopterus
Becards are reminiscent of flycatchers; they are medium-sized and have a rather flat head. Geographically variable: males in the north and west are gray with a black cap and back; in the Amazon primarily black overall, and both forms have bold black-and-white markings on wings. Female is nondescript with a rather plain face and pale yellowish underparts. Look for her buffy wingbars and buffy tips on the tail. Both sexes are similar to Black-and-white Becard; look for male’s black back and female's plain head (lacking rufous cap and black eyeline). Singles or pairs are found in wooded areas but not usually inside mature forest; they prefer edges and second growth. Usually found at middle levels in trees.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Pachyramphus polychopterus
- Authority
- (Vieillot, 1818)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Tityridae
- Genus
- Pachyramphus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Cinereous Finch
Piezorina cinerea
Gray bird with a yellow bill and legs found in arid areas of northwestern Peru. Despite its name, it is currently placed in the tanager family, though its thick, stubby bill does give it a finch-like look. Young birds have less black on the face than adults, and paler bill and legs. Similar to Band-tailed Sierra Finch, but has a stubbier bill and lacks brown streaks on the back. Most common in deserts with scattered small trees, though also occasionally found in denser forest.
Caracas Tapaculo
Scytalopus caracae
A typical tapaculo, in bad light a plain and dark small bird with short tail. In good view, mostly plain dark gray with brown and slightly barred belly. Female more barred than male, and juvenile mostly brown and markedly barred. Acts like a mouse, staying near the ground in dense understory of bamboo thickets in cloud forest. Song nasal and noisy, one of the signature sounds in the mountains near Caracas; one version a series of four notes “wu-E-e-wu” and the another a faster series of 6 notes “wu-wU-e-e-wu-wu”; varied calls, the most common a descending mechanical rattle. The only tapaculo in its limited range in the Coastal Cordillera of Venezuela.
Furtive Flycatcher
Ficedula disposita
A small bird of lowland secondary forest with bamboo in northern Luzon. Dark brown above with a gray band across the chest, a white throat and belly, a brown rump, rufous outer tail feathers, and a black terminal band on the tail. Similar to Ashy-breasted Flycatcher, but differs in tail pattern. Song is a variable three-noted whistled phrase, “piii puu piiit!” with the middle note lower.
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