Becard

Becard

Becard

Genus of birds

A becard is a bird of the genus Pachyramphus in the family Tityridae.

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Taxonomy

The genus Pachyramphus was introduced in 1839 by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in the volume on birds by John Gould that formed part of Charles Darwin's Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle.[2][3][4] The type species was designated by Gray in 1840 as the green-backed becard (Pachyramphus viridis).[5] The generic name is from the Ancient Greek pakhus meaning "stout" or "thick" and rhamphos meaning "bill".[6]

The genus had traditionally been placed in Cotingidae or Tyrannidae, but evidence strongly suggests that it is better placed in the family Tityridae, where it is now placed by the IOC.[7]

Extant species

The genus contains eighteen species:[8]

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Former species

Some authorities, either presently or formerly, recognize several additional species as belonging to the genus Pachyramphus including:

Description

The becards are characterized by their large heads with a slight crest.[10] The smaller members of this genus have graduated tails and most members are sexually dimorphic, although the cinnamon becard[10] and the chestnut-crowned becard have similar plumages for the males and females. Juvenile becards resemble the adult females in plumage and, as far as known, obtain their adult plumage after about a year.[10] The bills of the becards are grey, and many (but not all) have a black culmen or upper mandible. Their legs are dark gray.[10]

Distribution and habitat

They are primarily found in Central and South America, but the rose-throated becard occurs as far north as southern United States and, as suggested by its common name, the Jamaican becard is restricted to Jamaica.[11] Depending on the species, they are found in wooded habitats ranging from open woodland to the dense canopy of rainforests.

Breeding

The nest of a becard is a bulky globular mass of dead leaves, mosses, and fibers with the entrance near the bottom of the nest.[10] Nests are typically wedged or slung from the outer branches of trees at the mid or upper levels.[10]

References

  1. [1]
    "Tityridae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  2. [2]
    Gray G.R. in Gould, John (1841). Darwin, Charles (ed.). The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, Part III. Birds. London: Smith, Elder and Company. p. 50. Although the title page bears a date of 1841, both the plates and the text on Pachyramphus were issued in 1839.
  3. [3]
    Steinheimer, F.; Dickinson, E.C.; Walters, M.P. (2006). "The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, Part III. Birds. New avian names, their authorship and the dates". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 126 (2): 171–193 [177].
  4. [4]
    International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (2010). "Opinion 2263 (Case 3466) Pachyramphus G.R. Gray in Gould, 1839 (July) (Aves, Passeriformes, Cotingidae): generic name conserved". Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature. 67 (4): 346–347. doi:10.21805/bzn.v67i4.a16.
  5. [5]
    Gray, George Robert (1840). A List of the Genera of Birds : with an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus. London: R. and J.E. Taylor. p. 31.
  6. [6]
    Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 288. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  7. [7]
    Adopt the Family Tityridae Archived 2008-05-08 at the Wayback Machine – South American Classification Committee (2007)
  8. [8]
    Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Cotingas, manakins, tityras, becards". World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  9. [9]
    "Asthenes dorbignyi - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  10. [10]
    Howell, Steve N.G.; Webb, Sophie (1995), A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 520, ISBN 0-19-854012-4
  11. [11]
    Miller, Eliot T.; Wagner, Sarah K.; Klavins, Juan; Brush, Timothy; Greeney, Harold F. (16 March 2015). "Striking Courtship Displays in the Becard Clade Platypsaris". The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 127 (1): 123–126. doi:10.1676/14-030.1.
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