Scaled Fruiteater (Ampelioides tschudii)

Identification & Behavior: ~20.5 cm (8 in). The Scaled Fruiteater has a greenish back with black scales. The top of the head is black with yellowish-buff lores, throat, and sides of the neck. It has a black malar stripe. The underparts are greenish-yellow heavily scaled with dusky. The female is similar but lacks the large scales on the mantle and has a green top of the head. Both sexes have a yellow iris. It forages at various points along the height of the forest. The Scaled Fruiteater has a uniquely patterned plumage, but see Elegant Mourner (Shrike-like Continga).

Status: The Scaled Fruiteater is generally rare in montane forests of the east slope of the Andes where it is known to range at elevations between 700-1800 m. It also occurs in Co, Ec, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Frutero Escamoso.

Sub-species: Scaled Fruiteater (Ampelioides tschudii), (G. R. Gray), 1846.

Meaning of Name: Ampelioides: Ampelio= In reference to the genus Ampelion, Cabanis, 1845, (a berryeater). Oides= resembling. tschudii: In honor of Johann Jakob Baron von Tschudi (1818-1889) Swiss explorer, collector in Peru 1838-1842.

See more of the Family Cotingidae