Grey-collared becard
Species of bird
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The grey-collared becard (Pachyramphus major) is a species of bird in the family Tityridae, the tityras, becards, and allies. It is found in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.[3] It has also occurred as a vagrant in Arizona and Texas.[4][5]
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| Grey-collared becard | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Tityridae |
| Genus: | Pachyramphus |
| Species: | P. major |
| Binomial name | |
| Pachyramphus major Cabanis, 1847 | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Taxonomy and systematics
The grey-collared becard was originally described in 1847 as Bathmidurus major.[6] It was eventually placed in its present genus Pachyramphus. That genus has variously been assigned to the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae and the cotinga family Cotingidae. Several early twenty-first century studies confirmed the placement of Pachyramphus in Tityridae and taxonomic systems made the reassignment.[7] In 1998 the American Ornithological Society was unsure where to place the genus and listed its members as incertae sedis but in 2011 moved them to Tityridae.[8]
The grey-collared becard's further taxonomy is unsettled. The IOC, the Clements taxonomy, AviList, and the North American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (NACC) assign it these five subspecies:[3][9][10][11][12]
- P. m. uropygialis Nelson, 1899
- P. m. major (Cabinis, 1847)
- P. m. matudai Phillips, AR, 1966
- P. m. itzensis Nelson, 1901
- P. m. australis Miller, W & Griscom, 1925
However, as of late 2025 BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) treats P. m. uropygialis as a separate species, the "western grey-collared becard" and calls P. major the "eastern grey-collard becard".[13]
This article follows the IOC/Clements/AviList/NACC five-subspecies model.
Description
The grey-collared becard is 14 to 16.3 cm (5.5 to 6.4 in) long and weighs about 21 to 28 g (0.74 to 0.99 oz). Adult males of the nominate subspecies P. m. major have a glossy black crown. They have a pale stripe above the lores and an otherwise light gray face. The gray of their face wraps around their neck as a collar. Their back is black, sometimes with gray mottling, and their rump and uppertail coverts are gray. Their wings are mostly black with a white stripe on the scapulars and white edges on the coverts, secondaries, and tertials. Their tail is black with white tips on the outer feathers. Their throat and underparts are a uniform light gray. Adult females have a blackish brown to glossy blackish crown. They have a pale stripe above the lores on an otherwise pale cinnamon to tawny-buff face. The color of their face wraps around their neck as a collar. Their upperparts are cinnamon-brown. Their wings are mostly blackish with wide cinnamon to cinnamon-brown edges on the coverts, secondaries, and tertials. Their tail is mostly cinnamon-brown with wide cinnamon tips on the feathers. Their throat and underparts are buff to cinnamon-buff.[14]
The other subspecies of the grey-collared becard differ from the nominate and each other thus:[14]
- P. m. uropygialis: (male) whitish rump and uppertail coverts (female) rufous crown and lemon face and underparts
- P. m. matudai: (female) buffy-lemon underparts
- P. m. itzensis: (male) mostly gray back
- P. m. australis: (male) paler than nominate (female) darker than nominate
All subspecies have a dark iris, a blackish bill with sometimes some grayish pink on the mandible, and dark gray legs and feet.[14]
Distribution and habitat
The subspecies of the grey-colored becard are found thus:[11][14]
- P. m. uropygialis: western Mexico from southern Sonora south to Guerrero and Oaxaca
- P. m. major: eastern Mexico from southern Nuevo León south to Oaxaca and western Chiapas
- P. m. matudai: on the Pacific slope from Chiapas south to southern Guatemala
- P. m. itzensis: Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo in southeastern Mexico (and see below)
- P. m. australis: El Salvador, Honduras, and north-central Nicaragua (and see below)
The population in Belize and northern Guatemala belongs to either P. m. itzensis or P. m. australis.[14]
The grey-collared becard inhabits several types of humid to semi-arid forest in the tropical and subtropical zones. These include evergreen, deciduous, and especially pine-oak types.[11][14] In elevation it ranges from sea level to 2,500 m (8,200 ft).[15]
Behavior
Movement
The grey-collared becard appears to make elevational movements, at least in Mexico, where it breeds in higher elevations and winters lower.[11][14]
Feeding
The grey-collared becard feeds on insects and fruits. It apparently forages mostly singly or in pairs and occasionally joins mixed species feeding flocks.[14] It forages mostly from the forest's mid-story to its canopy.[14][16]
Breeding
The grey-collared becard's breeding season has not been defined but apparently spans at least May to August. Its one described nest was found in August. It was a globe with a side entrance, made of lichen, twigs, and pine needles with a "roof" of bark strips held with spider web. It was in a fork in an oak tree about 10 m (35 ft) above the ground. Both parents provisioned its nestlings. The clutch size, incubation period, time to fledging, and other details of parental care are not known.[14]
Vocalization
The grey-collared becard's song is "a rich and constantly repeated (usually 4–6 times, and ten in c. 10 seconds) hoo wee-deet or hu whi-ditt whistle".[14] Its call is a "begging-like eeuup-eeuup-eeuup" and it occasionally makes "squabbles and nasal agitated notes".[16]
Status
The IUCN follows HBW taxonomy and so has separately assessed the "western" and "eastern" grey-collared becards. The population size of neither is known and both are believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats to either have been identified.[1][2] The grey-collared becard is considered uncommon to fairly common overall.[14] In northern Central America it is rare to uncommon on the Caribbean slope and rare and local on the Pacific slope.[16] It occurs in a few protected areas.[16]