Cinereous Becard
Pachyramphus rufus
This small becard is fairly widespread in lowlands and foothills in northern South America. Males are gray, slightly paler below, with contrasting black cap and relatively plain wings. Females mostly rich rufous with paler lores and a whitish belly. Not a forest bird; found in more open woodland, edges, and second-growth. Usually seen in pairs.
Taxonomy
The cinereous becard was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1779 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen collected in Cayenne, French Guiana. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Muscicapa rufa in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. The cinereous becard is now placed in the genus Pachyramphus that was introduced in 1839 by the English zoologist George Robert Gray. The generic name is from the Ancient Greek pakhus meaning "stout" or "thick" and rhamphos meaning "bill". The specific epithet rufus is Latin for "red".
- Scientific name
- Pachyramphus rufus
- Authority
- (Boddaert, 1783)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Tityridae
- Genus
- Pachyramphus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Friedmann's Lark
Mirafra pulpa
A small, compact lark with dark brown upperparts that appear scaly in fresh plumage, a streaked crown that can be raised as a crest, an indistinct tawny eyebrow, a striking pale throat, and a pale belly with dark breast streaks. The bill is bicolored: pale below with a dark ridge on the upper mandible. The tail is mostly dark with white outer feathers that are conspicuous in flight. Movements of this very localized lark are poorly known, but small groups are probably partial migrants and nomads in dense grassland with scattered bush; likely often goes undetected when not singing. Best identification feature is the diagnostic song, a single-note strident loud up-and-down “wheeeeoooo” whistle, repeated incessantly every two seconds for minutes at a time.
Three-toed Jacamar
Jacamaralcyon tridactyla
Its small head, very long, straight bill, and long tail give it a distinctive silhouette. Mostly dark brown above with a streaky crown and whitish belly. Usually perches upright on prominent perches in the top of trees at the forest edge or in riparian forests where they sally out to catch insects.
Southern Pochard
Netta erythrophthalma
Very dark-looking duck with a broad white wing band that is visible in flight. Males are mostly glossy black with chestnut wings and a pale gray bill. Females have a different head pattern with white at the bill base and a crescent behind the eye. Inhabits lakes and pools with abundant vegetation.
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