Black-capped becard
The black-capped becard is a species of bird in the family Tityridae, the tityras, becards, and allies. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
Taxonomy and systematics
The black-capped becard was originally described in 1823 as Todus marginatus, mistakenly placing it among the todies. 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.The black-capped becard has two subspecies, the nominate P. m. marginatus and P. m. nanus.
Description
The black-capped becard is long and weighs about. Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a glossy black crown that has a blue sheen and a scaly appearance. They have a pale spot above the lores and a thin whitish eye-ring on an otherwise light gray face. The gray of their face wraps around their nape as a collar. Their back is variable from gray to black and their rump is gray. Their wings are mostly black with white scapulars and widish white edges on the coverts and flight feathers; the white shows as two wing bars. Their tail is black with white tips on the feathers. Their throat is pale gray or pale whitish gray and their underparts are a uniform light gray that sometimes becomes whitish gray on the lower belly and vent. Adult females have a rufous-chestnut crown. They have a grayish spot above the lores and a broken white eye-ring on an otherwise dusky olive face. The color of their face wraps around their nape. Their upperparts are olive. Their wings are mostly dusky with rufescent or cinnamon-olive scapulars and wide rufous edges on the coverts and inner flight feathers. Their tail is dusky with buff-cinnamon tips on the feathers. Their throat and underparts are pale yellow with a dusky tinge on the breast. Subspecies P. m. nanus is smaller than the nominate but otherwise the same. Both subspecies have a dark iris, a dusky or blackish bill, and dusky grayish legs and feet.Distribution and habitat
The black-capped becard has a disjunct distribution. Subspecies P. m. nanus has by far the larger range of the two. It is found from southeastern Colombia south through eastern Ecuador and eastern Peru into northern Bolivia and east from there across southern and eastern Venezuela, the Guianas, and Amazonian Brazil. In Brazil its range extends east roughly to a line from west-central Mato Grosso northeast to the Atlantic in Maranhão. The nominate subspecies is found in eastern Brazil from Pernambuco south to eastern Paraná.The black-capped becard primarily inhabits the interior of terra firme forest and mature secondary forest. To a lesser extent it is found at the forest edges. In elevation it is found in Brazil from sea level to. It reaches in Colombia, in Ecuador, in Peru, and
in Venezuela.