Grey-collared Becard

Overview

The grey-collared becard, Pachyramphus major, is a species of bird belonging to the family Tityridae. It is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, though its population is believed to be decreasing.

Identification

• Length of 14 to 16.3 cm (5.5 to 6.4 in) with a weight of 21 to 28 g (0.74 to 0.99 oz).
• Males possess a glossy black crown and back, a light grey face and collar, and black wings with white stripes and edges; females feature a blackish-brown to glossy blackish crown and upperparts, with a pale cinnamon to tawny-buff face, collar, and underparts.
• Dark iris, a blackish bill with occasional greyish pink on the mandible, and dark grey legs and feet.
• Song consists of a rich, constantly repeated hoo wee-deet or hu whi-ditt whistle, usually 4–6 times in a cycle of ten seconds, accompanied by a begging-like eeuup-eeuup call.

Habitat

Found in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua, with recorded vagrancies in Arizona and Texas. It inhabits humid to semi-arid evergreen, deciduous, and pine-oak forests in tropical and subtropical zones, ranging in elevation from sea level to 2,500 m (8,200 ft).

Diet

The species feeds on insects and fruits, foraging mostly singly or in pairs within the forest's mid-story to canopy. It occasionally joins mixed-species feeding flocks.

Did you know?

Its one described nest is a globe with a side entrance constructed from lichen, twigs, and pine needles, topped with a roof of bark strips held together with spider web. This structure was located in the fork of an oak tree approximately 10 m (35 ft) above the ground.