becard

The genus Pachyramphus was introduced in 1839 by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in the volume on birds by John Gould that formed part of Charles Darwin's Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle.{{ cite book | last=Gray G.R. in Gould | first=John | author-link=John Gould | editor-last=Darwin | editor-first=Charles | editor-link=Charles Darwin | year=1841 | title=The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, Part III. Birds | location=London | publisher=Smith, Elder and Company | page=50 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40300077 }} Although the title page bears a date of 1841, both the plates and the text on Pachyramphus were issued in 1839.{{ cite journal | last1=Steinheimer | first1=F. | last2=Dickinson | first2=E.C. | last3=Walters | first3=M.P. | year=2006 | title=The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, Part III. Birds. New avian names, their authorship and the dates | journal=Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club | volume=126 | issue=2 | pages=171–193 [177]| url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40884099}}{{ cite journal | author=International Code of Zoological Nomenclature | year=2010 | title=Opinion 2263 (Case 3466) Pachyramphus G.R. Gray in Gould, 1839 (July) (Aves, Passeriformes, Cotingidae): generic name conserved | journal=Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature | volume=67 | issue=4 | pages=346–347 | doi=10.21805/bzn.v67i4.a16 }} The type species was designated by Gray in 1840 as the green-backed becard (Pachyramphus viridis).{{ cite book | last=Gray | first=George Robert | author-link=George Robert Gray | year=1840 | title=A List of the Genera of Birds : with an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus | place=London | publisher=R. and J.E. Taylor | page=31 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13668925 }} The generic name is from the Ancient Greek pakhus meaning "stout" or "thick" and rhamphos meaning "bill".{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url=https://archive.org/details/helmdictionarysc00jobl_997 | url-access=limited | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=[https://archive.org/details/helmdictionarysc00jobl_997/page/n288 288] }}

The genus had traditionally been placed in Cotingidae or Tyrannidae, but evidence strongly suggests that it is better placed in the family Tityridae, where it is now placed by the IOC.[http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCprop313.html Adopt the Family Tityridae] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080508083837/http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCprop313.html |date=2008-05-08 }} – South American Classification Committee (2007)

The genus contains eighteen species:{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | year=2019 | title=Cotingas, manakins, tityras, becards | work=World Bird List Version 9.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/cotingas/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=18 August 2019 }}

Some authorities, either presently or formerly, recognize several additional species as belonging to the genus Pachyramphus including:

• Rusty-vented canastero (as Bathmidura Dorbignyi){{Cite web|url=http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?lang=EN&avibaseid=95A33B5D&sec=summary&ssver=1|title=Asthenes dorbignyi - Avibase|website=avibase.bsc-eoc.org|access-date=2017-04-15}}

The becards are characterized by their large heads with a slight crest.{{Citation| last = Howell| first = Steve N.G.| last2 = Webb| first2 = Sophie| title = A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America| place = New York| publisher = Oxford University Press| year = 1995| pages = [https://archive.org/details/guidetobirdsofme0000howe/page/520 520]| isbn = 0-19-854012-4| url = https://archive.org/details/guidetobirdsofme0000howe/page/520}} The smaller members of this genus have graduated tails and most members are sexually dimorphic, although the cinnamon becard and the chestnut-crowned becard have similar plumages for the males and females. Juvenile becards resemble the adult females in plumage and, as far as known, obtain their adult plumage after about a year. The bills of the becards are grey, and many (but not all) have a black culmen or upper mandible. Their legs are dark gray.

They are primarily found in Central and South America, but the rose-throated becard occurs as far north as southern United States and, as suggested by its common name, the Jamaican becard is restricted to Jamaica.{{cite journal|last1=Miller|first1=Eliot T.|last2=Wagner|first2=Sarah K.|last3=Klavins|first3=Juan|last4=Brush|first4=Timothy|last5=Greeney|first5=Harold F.|title=Striking Courtship Displays in the Becard Clade Platypsaris|journal=The Wilson Journal of Ornithology|date=16 March 2015|volume=127|issue=1|pages=123–126|doi=10.1676/14-030.1|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274370877|language=EN}} Depending on the species, they are found in wooded habitats ranging from open woodland to the dense canopy of rainforests.

The nest of a becard is a bulky globular mass of dead leaves, mosses, and fibers with the entrance near the bottom of the nest. Nests are typically wedged or slung from the outer branches of trees at the mid or upper levels.

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Category:Taxa named by George Robert Gray

Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot