Yellow-green Grosbeak
Caryothraustes canadensis
A well-named grosbeak that is olive-greenish above and brighter yellow below, with a distinctive black face and a stout bill with a silver base. Disjunct range stretches from eastern Panama to southeast Brazil. Occurs in the subcanopy of lowland forest, up to around 1,000 m. Typically found in small groups, sometimes as a part of a larger mixed-species flock. Often draws attention to itself with piercing buzzy and squeaky calls. Not likely confused, but compare with female Red-and-black Grosbeak, which has entirely black head.
Taxonomy
In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the yellow-green grosbeak in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in Cayenne in French Guiana. He used the French name Le Gros-bec de Cayenne and the Latin name Coccothraustes Cayanensis. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the yellow-green grosbeak. Linnaeus included a terse description, used the binomial name Loxia canadensis and cited Brisson's work. Linnaeus mistakenly claimed that the species occurred in Canada rather than Cayenne and introduced the specific name canadensis for Canada where the bird does not occur. This species is now placed in the genus Caryothraustes that was introduced by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach in 1850. There are four subspecies.
- Scientific name
- Caryothraustes canadensis
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Cardinalidae
- Genus
- Caryothraustes
Range and habitat
It is found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Suriname, and Venezuela.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and heavily degraded former forest.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Striped Woodpecker
Dryobates lignarius
The only small woodpecker in its range. Fairly common but easily overlooked in a variety of wooded and forested habitats, parks, farmland, and matorral with taller hedges and trees. Usually found as ones and twos, foraging on smaller branches from low bushes to tall Eucalyptus trees. Sometimes joins with feeding flocks of rayaditos and other species, mainly in winter. Black-and-white pattern much like other small woodpeckers, with barred upperparts and dark streaks (or stripes) on breast. Male has a red nape patch.
Amazonian Scrub-Flycatcher
Sublegatus obscurior
A confusing flycatcher, fairly small and nondescript. Look for the short bill and round head, sometimes raised into a slight crest. Dull grayish-brown head shows only a hint of a paler line above eye. Chest is paler gray, which blends into the pale yellow belly. Wingbars are present but not bold. Larger and lankier than a beardless-tyrannulet; looks rather like a diminutive Myiarchus flycatcher. Very similar to Southern Scrub-Flycatcher, which may overlap during the Austral winter, but note the overall darker coloration of Amazonian.
Channel-billed Toucan
Ramphastos vitellinus
Large toucan, widespread across South American lowlands. Mostly black with a dark bill (although some populations have a yellow ridge on top of the bill). Significant plumage variation across range: throat color varies from white to orange; bare skin around eye varies from blue to red. In the western part of its range, appearance is very similar to White-throated Toucan, but note voice: a grating croak, not a clear yelp. Singles, pairs, or small flocks are found in the forest canopy, often around fruiting trees. Named for the groove along the upper part of the bill, which is difficult to see in the field.
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