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
Plain-backed Sparrow
Passer flaveolus
Male resembles a faded blend between House and Russet Sparrows, with a black throat, gray crown and nape, and dusty reddish brows and back. Female has a thin pale brow and is overall very plain and unmarked. House Sparrow females have a broader, more prominent brow stripe and are overall more strongly-marked. Both sexes of Russet Sparrow are likewise much more contrastingly patterned. Gives typical sparrow chirps and chirrups. Inhabits edge habitats including farmlands and gardens. Primarily a lowland species, but gets up into the foothills where it overlaps with Russet Sparrow.
Baliem Whistler
Pachycephala balim
A medium-sized bird of montane forest and secondary habitat in the Baliem Valley. Typical male “golden” whistler, with yellow belly, black head and breast band, and a white throat. Female has a brown head and breast band with a scaled throat. Co-occurs with the similar Sclater’s Whistler, but Baliem male has a broad yellow band around the back of the neck, and female has a scaled rather than plain white throat. A jumbled, whistled song containing some notes with an explosive quality.
Savannah Sparrow
Passerculus sandwichensis
A medium-sized, short-tailed sparrow. Extensive plumage variation across range, but always streaky. Usually shows distinctive yellow patch in front of eye, but this can be indistinct or absent on some individuals. Some populations in California and Baja have larger bills and more muted gray streaking; others are very dark and boldly streaked. “Ipswich” Sparrow on the Atlantic Coast is paler with unique buffy-pinkish tones. Almost always found in open areas, from meadows and hayfields to tundra and coastal dunes. Tends to be found in more open habitats than Song Sparrow; also smaller and shorter-tailed.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.