Barred Becard

About the Barred Becard

The barred becard (Pachyramphus versicolor) is a small passerine bird in the family Tityridae, the tityras, becards, and allies. It is found in Costa Rica, Panama, and in South America from Venezuela to Bolivia. The barred becard was originally described in 1843 as Vireo versicolor. It was later reassigned to genus Pachyramphus that George Robert Gray had erected in 1840. The 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. 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.

The barred becard has three subspecies, the nominate P. v. versicolor (Hartlaub, 1843), P. v. costaricensis (Bangs, 1908), and P. v. meridionalis (Carriker, 1934). The barred becard is 12 to 13 cm (4.7 to 5.1 in) long and weighs 14 to 17 g (0.49 to 0.60 oz). It is the smallest member of genus Pachyramphus. Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a glossy... Wikipedia →