Cinereous Becard (Pachyramphus rufus)

Identification & Behavior: ~14 cm (5.5 in). The male Cinereous Becard has gray upperparts and tail without spots or wing bars. The wing coverts and wing feathers are faintly fringed with white. It has a black cap and grayish lores. The sides of the head, neck, and underparts are gray. The female is cinnamon rufous with a whitish throat. It forages in second growth and river islands along major Amazonian rivers in the northeast. It is similar to the male Black-capped Becard but is distinguished by a gray back, no white wing bars nor tail spots, and preference for river created habitats. The female is similar to a Chestnut-crowned Becard but is distinguished by having an entirely cinnamon rufous head.

Status: The Cinereous Becard is rare on the edges and river islands along the Amazon and Ucayali Rivers. It also occurs in Co, Ec, and Br.

Name in Spanish: Cabezón Cinéreo.

Sub-species: Cinereous Becard (Pachyramphus rufus juruanus), Gyldenstolpe, 1951.

Meaning of Name: Pachyramphus: Gr. pakhus= stout, thick and rhamphos= bill. rufus: L. rufus= red, ruddy, rufous. In ornithology rufus, rufa and rufum cover a wide spectrum of colours from yellow, orange and brown to crimson, scarlet and purple.

See more of the Family Tityridae