# Becard

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{{Short description|Genus of birds}}
{{Automatic Taxobox
| name              = Pachyramphus
| image             = CANELEIRO (Pachyramphus castaneus).jpg
| image_caption     = [Chestnut-crowned becard](/source/Chestnut-crowned_becard) (''Pachyramphus castaneus'')
| taxon             = Pachyramphus
| authority         = [G.R. Gray](/source/George_Robert_Gray), 1839
| type_species      = ''[Psaris cuvierii](/source/Green-backed_becard)''<ref name=HM4>{{cite web |url= https://www.aviansystematics.org/4th-edition-checklist?viewfamilies=206 |title= Tityridae |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website= aviansystematics.org |publisher= The Trust for Avian Systematics |access-date= 2023-07-24}}</ref>
| type_species_authority = Swainson, 1821
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision       =
See text.
| synonyms          = * ''Bathmidura''
* ''Pachyrhamphus'' <small>Strickland, 1841</small>
* ''Platypsaris''
}}

A '''becard''' is a bird of the genus '''''Pachyramphus''''' in the family [Tityridae](/source/Tityridae).

==Taxonomy==
The genus ''Pachyramphus'' was introduced in 1839 by the English zoologist [George Robert Gray](/source/George_Robert_Gray) in the volume on birds by [John Gould](/source/John_Gould) that formed part of [Charles Darwin](/source/Charles_Darwin)'s ''[Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle](/source/Zoology_of_the_Voyage_of_H.M.S._Beagle)''.<ref>{{ 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.</ref><ref>{{ 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}}</ref><ref>{{ 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 }}</ref> The [type species](/source/type_species) was designated by Gray in 1840 as the [green-backed becard](/source/green-backed_becard) (''Pachyramphus viridis'').<ref>{{ 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 }}</ref> The generic name is from the [Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek) ''pakhus'' meaning "stout" or "thick" and ''rhamphos'' meaning "bill".<ref>{{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] }}</ref> 

The genus had traditionally been placed in [Cotingidae](/source/Cotingidae) or [Tyrannidae](/source/Tyrannidae), but evidence strongly suggests that it is better placed in the family [Tityridae](/source/Tityridae), where it is now placed by the [IOC](/source/International_Ornithologists'_Union).<ref>[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)</ref>

===Extant species===
The genus contains seventeen [species](/source/species):<ref name=avilist>{{ cite web | author=AviList Core Team | date=2025 | title=AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025 | doi=10.2173/avilist.v2025 | doi-access=free | url=http://www.avilist.org/checklist/v2025/ | access-date=8 May 2026 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Scientific name !! Common name!! Distribution
|-
|120px ||''Pachyramphus viridis''|| [Green-backed becard](/source/Green-backed_becard)  ||   Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
|-
|120px ||''Pachyramphus versicolor''|| [Barred becard](/source/Barred_becard)||  from Costa Rica to northwestern Ecuador and northern Bolivia. 
|-
|120px ||''Pachyramphus spodiurus''|| [Slaty becard](/source/Slaty_becard) ||  Ecuador and far northern Peru.
|-
|120px ||''Pachyramphus rufus''|| [Cinereous becard](/source/Cinereous_becard) ||   Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela
|-
|120px ||''Pachyramphus castaneus''|| [Chestnut-crowned becard](/source/Chestnut-crowned_becard) ||  Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia and regions of Venezuela 
|-
|120px ||''Pachyramphus cinnamomeus''|| [Cinnamon becard](/source/Cinnamon_becard)||south-eastern Mexico south to north-western Ecuador and north-western Venezuela  
|-
|120px ||''Pachyramphus polychopterus''||  [White-winged becard](/source/White-winged_becard)||  Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela. 
|-
|120px ||''Pachyramphus marginatus''|| [Black-capped becard](/source/Black-capped_becard)  ||Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.   
|-
|120px ||''Pachyramphus albogriseus''|| [Black-and-white becard](/source/Black-and-white_becard) ||  Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela.
|-
|120px ||''Pachyramphus salvini''|| [Cryptic becard](/source/Cryptic_becard) || Ecuador and Peru.
|-
|120px ||''Pachyramphus major''|| [Grey-collared becard](/source/Grey-collared_becard) ||   Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. 
|-
|120px ||''Pachyramphus surinamus''|| [Glossy-backed becard](/source/Glossy-backed_becard)|| Brazil, French Guiana, and Suriname.  
|-
|120px ||''Pachyramphus homochrous''|| [One-colored becard](/source/One-colored_becard) ||   Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. 
|-
|120px ||''Pachyramphus minor''|| [Pink-throated becard](/source/Pink-throated_becard) || Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.  
|-
|120px ||''Pachyramphus validus''|| [Crested becard](/source/Crested_becard) ||   Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru. 
|-
|120px ||''Pachyramphus aglaiae''|| [Rose-throated becard](/source/Rose-throated_becard) ||  south-easternmost Arizona and extreme southern Texas of the United States to western Panama.
|-
|120px ||''Pachyramphus niger''|| [Jamaican becard](/source/Jamaican_becard) ||  Jamaica.  
|-
|}

===Former species===
Some authorities, either presently or formerly, recognize several additional species as belonging to the genus ''Pachyramphus'' including:
* [Rusty-vented canastero](/source/Rusty-vented_canastero) (as ''Bathmidura Dorbignyi'')<ref>{{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}}</ref>

==Description==
The becards are characterized by their large heads with a slight [crest](/source/Crest_(feathers)).<ref name=" Howell ">{{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}}</ref> The smaller members of this genus have graduated tails and most members are [sexually dimorphic](/source/sexually_dimorphic), although the [cinnamon becard](/source/cinnamon_becard)<ref name="Howell"/> and the [chestnut-crowned becard](/source/chestnut-crowned_becard) have similar [plumage](/source/plumage)s 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.<ref name="Howell"/> The bills of the becards are grey, and many (but not all) have a black [culmen](/source/culmen_(bird)) or upper mandible. Their legs are dark gray.<ref name="Howell"/>

==Distribution and habitat==
They are primarily found in [Central](/source/Central_America) and South America, but the [rose-throated becard](/source/rose-throated_becard) occurs as far north as southern United States and, as suggested by its [common name](/source/common_name), the [Jamaican becard](/source/Jamaican_becard) is restricted to Jamaica.<ref name="Miller">{{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}}</ref> Depending on the species, they are found in wooded habitats ranging from open woodland to the dense [canopy](/source/Canopy_(forest)) of [rainforest](/source/rainforest)s.

==Breeding==
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.<ref name="Howell"/> Nests are typically wedged or slung from the outer branches of trees at the mid or upper levels.<ref name="Howell"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Passeriformes|T.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q536789}}

*
Category:Taxa named by George Robert Gray
Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Becard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Becard) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Becard?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.
