Barred Becard
Encyclopedia
The Barred Becard, Pachyramphus versicolor, is a small passerine
bird
which is a resident breeding species in highlands from Costa Rica
to northwestern Ecuador
and northern Bolivia
. It has traditionally been placed in Cotingidae or Tyrannidae, but evidence strongly suggest it is belong in Tityridae
, where now placed by SACC.
The adult Barred Becard is 12 cm long and weighs 14 g; it has a conspicuous eye ring. The adult male has black upperparts with much white in the wings. The sides of the head and throat are yellowish-green shading to white on the rest of the underparts. The underparts are finely barred with black. The adult female has a grey crown and nape, olive-green upperparts and largely rufous wings. The greenish-yellow underparts are finely barred with dusky. Young males are much duller and greener than the adults, with weaker barring. The calls include a soft but persistent weet weet weet weet or a teseep tesep tseep tseep.
The Barred Becard is found in the canopy and middle levels of mountain forests, coming lower at edges and in adjacent more open woodland. It is mainly found at altitudes between 1500-2500 m, sometimes higher early in the year. Barred Becards actively pick large insect
s and spider
s off the foliage in flight. They also regularly hover to take small berries
. They can occur singly, in pairs or family groups, or often as part of a mixed-species feeding flock
.
The nest, built by the female in a high fork of a tree branch 15-23 m up, is a 30 cm diameter spherical structure of plant material with a low entrance. The typical clutch is two dark brown-blotched brownish white eggs, laid between April and June and incubated by the female alone for 18-20 days to hatching. The male helps to feed the young.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
which is a resident breeding species in highlands from Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
to northwestern Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
and northern Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
. It has traditionally been placed in Cotingidae or Tyrannidae, but evidence strongly suggest it is belong in Tityridae
Tityridae
Tityridae is family of suboscine passerine birds found in forest and woodland in the Neotropics. The approximately 30 species in this family were formerly spread over the families Tyrannidae, Pipridae and Cotingidae . As yet, no widely accepted common name exists for the family, although Tityras...
, where now placed by SACC.
The adult Barred Becard is 12 cm long and weighs 14 g; it has a conspicuous eye ring. The adult male has black upperparts with much white in the wings. The sides of the head and throat are yellowish-green shading to white on the rest of the underparts. The underparts are finely barred with black. The adult female has a grey crown and nape, olive-green upperparts and largely rufous wings. The greenish-yellow underparts are finely barred with dusky. Young males are much duller and greener than the adults, with weaker barring. The calls include a soft but persistent weet weet weet weet or a teseep tesep tseep tseep.
The Barred Becard is found in the canopy and middle levels of mountain forests, coming lower at edges and in adjacent more open woodland. It is mainly found at altitudes between 1500-2500 m, sometimes higher early in the year. Barred Becards actively pick large insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s off the foliage in flight. They also regularly hover to take small berries
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
. They can occur singly, in pairs or family groups, or often as part of a mixed-species feeding flock
Mixed-species feeding flock
A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species, that join each other and move together while foraging...
.
The nest, built by the female in a high fork of a tree branch 15-23 m up, is a 30 cm diameter spherical structure of plant material with a low entrance. The typical clutch is two dark brown-blotched brownish white eggs, laid between April and June and incubated by the female alone for 18-20 days to hatching. The male helps to feed the young.