Green-backed Becard

About the Green-backed Becard

The green-backed becard (Pachyramphus viridis) is a species of passerine bird in the family Tityridae, the tityras, becards, and allies. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The green-backed becard includes the yellow-cheeked becard as a subspecies.

The green-backed becard was formally described in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Vieillot under the binomial name Tityra viridis. He based his account on the "Caracterizados verde y corona negra" from Paraguay that had been described in 1805 by the Spanish naturalist Félix de Azara in his Apuntamientos para la historia natural de los páxaros del Paragüay y Rio de la Plata. The specific epithet viridis is Latin meaning "green". The green-backed becard is now one of 17 species placed in the genus Pachyramphus that was introduced in 1839 by the English zoologist George Robert Gray.

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.

Four subspecies are recognised: P.... Wikipedia →