Black Solitaire

About the Black Solitaire

The black solitaire (Entomodestes coracinus) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae, the thrushes. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador. The black solitaire was originally described in 1897 as Myiadestes corcinus. It was later reassigned to its current genus Entomodestes that had been erected in 1883.

The black solitaire is monotypic. It shares its genus with the white-eared solitaire (E. leucotis) and the two form a superspecies. The black solitaire is about 23 cm (9.1 in) long; one individual weighed 56 g (2.0 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults are almost entirely glossy black. They have silvery white "cheeks" from the base of the bill to the ear coverts, white underwing coverts, and white lower halves of their outer tail feathers. They have a red iris, a black maxilla, a yellowish orange mandible, and dark grayish brown legs and feet. Juveniles are mostly dull brown with less white than adults.

The black solitaire is a bird of the Chocó region from Chocó Department in west-central Colombia south to Pichincha Province in northwestern Ecuador. It is found intermittently within that overall... Wikipedia →