Black-crowned Tityra
Tityra inquisitor
Handsome, mostly silvery gray bird of tropical lowland forest and adjacent semi-open areas with taller trees. Usually found at mid-upper levels of fruiting trees, sometimes in small groups that mix readily with the commoner Masked Tityra. Black-crowned is told from slightly larger Masked by its solidly black bill. Male is more silvery overall, with a black cap; female had brown face and smaller black cap. Tityras nest in tree cavities, that they sometimes steal from woodpeckers.
Taxonomy
<p>The syntypes of Psaris fraserii Kaup (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 19. ,1851 (1852), p.47. pl. 37-38), an adult male and female, are held in the vertebrate zoology collection of National Museums Liverpool at World Museum, with accession number NML-VZ D1868 and NML-VZ D1868a. The specimen came to the Liverpool national collection via the 13th Earl of Derby’s collection which was bequeathed to the people of Liverpool in 1851.
- Scientific name
- Tityra inquisitor
- Authority
- (Lichtenstein, MHC, 1823)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Tityridae
- Genus
- Tityra
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Madagascar Munia
Lepidopygia nana
Tiny brown bird with a black bib. Juveniles are plain brown, but are usually seen with adults. Madagascar endemic that is found in all open habitats, including grassland, savannah, scrub, gardens, villages, marsh, and openings in the forest. Almost always in flocks that are usually small, but which sometimes contain dozens of birds. Call is a quiet “te-teuwt,” given frequently in flight, often by a chorus of birds in a flock. Even smaller than Madagascar Cisticola, with a black bib, no streaking, and a thicker bill.
Rock Parrot
Neophema petrophila
Attractive small parrot of southwestern Australia. Dull olive-green parrot with yellowish lower belly and limited blue in folded wing. Face pale blue between eye and bill, with thin blue line between the eyes. Juvenile has yellow on face. Feeds on the ground in open coastal salt marsh and coastal grasslands. Compare Blue-winged Parrot (brighter green, with more yellow on face, large blue wing patch) and Elegant Parrot (yellower, yellow on face). Call a sharp, high-pitched "zit zit zit."
Azure-crowned Hummingbird
Saucerottia cyanocephala
Medium-sized hummingbird of oak and pine-oak woodlands and adjacent shrubby clearings; also local in lowland pine savannas. Sexes look alike and often look rather dull overall, despite the name. Note the whitish throat and breast offset by a dusky vest, and the dusky brownish rump and tail. Crown and sides of head are blue (rarely catching the light), with a white spot behind the eye and some red at base of bill.
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