Rose-throated Becard (Pachyramphus aglaiae)

[order] PASSERIFORMES | [family] Tityridae | [latin] Pachyramphus aglaiae | [UK] Rose-throated Becard | [FR] Becarde a gorge rose | [DE] Dickkopf-Bekarde | [ES] Anambe Degollado | [NL] Grote Bekarde

Subspecies

Physical charateristics

Big-headed and thick-billed. Male : Dark gray above, pale to dusky below, with a blackish cap and cheeks and a lovely rose-colored throat . Female
: Brown above, with a dark cap and a light buffy collar
around the nape. Underparts strong buff. The becards, a subfamily of the Tyrannidae, were formerly placed in a different family, the cotingas, Family Cotingidae.

Listen to the sound of Rose-throated Becard

[audio:http://www.aviflevoland.nl/sounddb/R/Rose-throated Becard.mp3]

Copyright remark: Most sounds derived from xeno-canto

Range

Middle America : widespread. Breeds in southeast Arizona, southern Texas (rare visitor along Rio Grande), south through Mexico to Costa Rica. Winters from northern Mexico south through breeding range.

Habitat

Wooded canyons, river groves, sycamores. In Arizona, usually along streams at middle elevations, especially in groves of sycamores and cottonwoods; sometimes in pure cottonwood groves
with understory of mesquites. In Texas, generally in native woodland near Rio Grande. In Mexico and Central America, widespread in dry woods, canyons, locally up into mountain forest.

Reproduction

Male defends nesting territory by singing. During breeding season, has a thin, rhythmic “dawn song,” usually heard only before sunrise.
Nest: Usually suspended at the end of a long hanging branch, under the shady canopy of a large tree (sycamore or cottonwood in Arizona), up to 50′ above the ground. Nest (built mostly by
female, with some help from male) is a very large globular mass of vegetation, with the entrance low on one side; made of bark strips, grass, weeds, vines, spider webs, and other materials. More material may be added even after incubation begins.
Eggs: 4-6. Whitish to buff, heavily blotched with brown. Incubation is by female; incubation period not well known.
Young: Both parents bring food for nestlings. Young leave nest about 3 weeks after hatching.

Feeding habits

Includes insects and berries.
Diet not well known. In summer in United States, probably feeds mostly on insects. Also known to eat many small fruits and berries, perhaps especially in southern parts of range.
Behavior: Forages mostly by watching from a perch, then making short flights out to capture insects, re
turning to perch to eat them. Takes most insects from foliage while hovering briefly; also catches some in midair. Does much of its foraging within the shady canopy of tall trees.

Conservation

This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Migration

Mexican border to Costa Rica. A local summer resident in southeastern Arizona and sometimes lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas. Migration:
In Arizona, generally arrives in May and leaves in September. Probably permanent resident over most of its range. May wander into southern Texas at any season.

Distribution map