Pachyramphus castaneus
The Chestnut-crowned Becard (Pachyramphus castaneus) is a striking, medium-sized passerine bird belonging to the Tityridae family, a group formerly classified with tyrant flycatchers or cotingas, highlighting its unique evolutionary path among suboscine birds. Adults typically measure around 14-16 cm (5.5-6.3 inches) in length and weigh 20-25 grams. Males are particularly distinctive, sporting a vibrant chestnut body plumage, contrasting with a clean gray crown and nape, and often lighter, wh...
Found primarily in subtropical and tropical moist lowland and montane forests, including humid evergreen forests, forest edges, and secondary growth, typically at elevations ranging from 200 to 2,700 meters.
Primarily insectivorous, feeding on beetles, caterpillars, orthopterans, and other arthropods gleaned from foliage or snatched in flight. They also consume small fruits and berries, especially from mistletoe.
Chestnut-crowned Becards are active during daylight hours, often foraging solitarily or in pairs, frequently joining mixed-species flocks in the mid- to upper canopy. Their primary foraging strategy involves gleaning insects from foliage and branches, though they will also sally out to catch flyi...
The Chestnut-crowned Becard boasts a wide, disjunct distribution across South America. Its primary range extends through the Andes foothills and lower montane forests from western Venezuela and Colombia, south through Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Disjunct populations also occur across much of Braz...
Least Concern
- Becards were once grouped with flycatchers (Tyrannidae) or cotingas (Cotingidae) but now have their own family, Tityridae, highlighting their unique evolutionary path. - Their elaborately woven, pendulous nests can be up to 60 cm (2 feet) long and are camouflaged with moss and lichens, making t...