The cinnamon becard (''Pachyramphus cinnamomeus'') is a
passerine
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
found in Latin America.
Taxonomy
It has been placed with the
tityra
The tityras are passerine birds in the genus ''Tityra'' of the family Tityridae. They are found from southern Mexico, through Central America, to northern and central South America, including Trinidad.
These are medium-sized birds, typically ar ...
s in the
cotinga
The cotingas are a large family, Cotingidae, of suboscine passerine birds found in Central America and tropical South America. Cotingas are birds of forests or forest edges, that are primary frugivorous. They all have broad bills with hooked tip ...
or the
tyrant flycatcher
The tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae) are a family of passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America. They are considered the largest family of birds known to exist in the world, with more than 400 species. They are the most dive ...
families
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...
by various authors, but the evidence strongly suggest the tityras and their closest relatives are better separated as
Tityridae
Tityridae is family of suboscine passerine birds found in forest and woodland in the Neotropics. The 45 species in this family were formerly spread over the families Tyrannidae, Pipridae and Cotingidae (''see Taxonomy''). As yet, no widely acce ...
. The
AOU for example advocates this separation.
[SACC (2007)]
Description
The adult cinnamon becard is 5.5 in (14 cm) long and weighs 0.6–0.8 oz (17–22 g). It is rufous above and paler cinnamon below, with a grey bill and legs. Unlike other becards, the sexes are similar, but the young are brighter above and paler overall. Northern birds have a pale
supercilium
The supercilium is a plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. It is a stripe which runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head.Dunn and Alderfer (2006), p. 10 Also ...
and dusky line from the bill to the eye, but the
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
''Pachyramphus cinnamomeus magdalenae'' west of the
Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
shows more contrast, with a stronger supercilium and blackish loral line.
The calls include high thin whistles. The males' song is a plaintive ascending ''dee dee dee dee dee dee de'' while the females' is a weaker ''deeeu dew dew, dew dew''.
Distribution and habitat
The cinnamon becard is a resident breeding species from south-eastern
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
south to north-western
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
and north-western
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
. It was recently found to be far more common on the
Amazonian slope of the
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
n
Cordillera Oriental than previously believed.
[Salaman ''et al.'' (2002)]
It occurs over a wide range of altitudes, from almost sea level to (albeit rarely) more than 5,000 ft (1,700 m)
ASL
American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is express ...
; they prefer disturbed
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
like open woodland including forest edges and clearings,
mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...
s, and
secondary forest
A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...
e.g. dominated by
Naked Albizia (''
Albizia carbonaria'',
).
Behaviour
Breeding
The nest, built by the female at the tip of a high tree branch 8–50 ft (2.5–15 m) up, is a spherical structure of plant material with a low entrance, which for protection is often built near a
wasp
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...
nest. The typical clutch is 3–4 olive brown-blotched brownish white eggs, laid between March and July and incubated by the female alone for 18–20 days to hatching. The male helps to feed the young.
Feeding
Cinnamon becards pick large
insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
s and
spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
s off the foliage in flight. They also regularly hover to take small
berries
A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...
.
References
References
* Hilty, Steven L. (2003): ''Birds of Venezuela''.
Christopher Helm
Christopher Alexander Roger Helm (born Dundee, 1 February 1937 – 20 January 2007) was a Scottish book publisher, notably of ornithology related titles, including the ''Helm Identification Guides''.
Born in Dundee, he was raised in Forfar, w ...
, London.
* Stiles, F. Gary & Skutch, Alexander Frank (1989): ''A guide to the birds of Costa Rica''. Comistock, Ithaca.
* Salaman, Paul G. W.; Stiles, F. Gary; Bohórquez, Clara Isabel; Álvarez-R., Mauricio; Umaña, Ana María; Donegan, Thomas M. & Cuervo, Andrés M. (2002): New and noteworthy bird records from the east slope of the Andes of Colombia. ''Caldasia'' 24(1): 157–189
PDF fulltext*
South American Classification Committee
The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its m ...
(SACC) (2007)
Proposal #313 - Adopt the Family Tityridae
Further reading
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1310320
cinnamon becard
The cinnamon becard (''Pachyramphus cinnamomeus'') is a passerine bird found in Latin America.
Taxonomy
It has been placed with the tityras in the cotinga or the tyrant flycatcher families by various authors, but the evidence strongly suggest ...
cinnamon becard
The cinnamon becard (''Pachyramphus cinnamomeus'') is a passerine bird found in Latin America.
Taxonomy
It has been placed with the tityras in the cotinga or the tyrant flycatcher families by various authors, but the evidence strongly suggest ...
Birds of Central America
Birds of Colombia
Birds of Ecuador
cinnamon becard
The cinnamon becard (''Pachyramphus cinnamomeus'') is a passerine bird found in Latin America.
Taxonomy
It has been placed with the tityras in the cotinga or the tyrant flycatcher families by various authors, but the evidence strongly suggest ...
cinnamon becard
The cinnamon becard (''Pachyramphus cinnamomeus'') is a passerine bird found in Latin America.
Taxonomy
It has been placed with the tityras in the cotinga or the tyrant flycatcher families by various authors, but the evidence strongly suggest ...