Black-faced Grosbeak Article Index for
Black-faced
Shopping
Grosbeak
 

Information About

Black-faced Grosbeak




  Name Black-faced Grosbeak
  Regnum Animal ia
  Phylum Chordata
  Classis Aves
  Ordo Passeriformes
  Familia Cardinalidae
  Genus '' Caryothraustes ''
  Species '''''C poliogaster'''''
  Binomial ''Caryothraustes poliogaster''
  Binomial Authority ( Du Bus De Gisignies , 1847)


The Black-faced Grosbeak, ''Caryothraustes poliogaster'', is a large Seed -eating Bird in the Cardinal Family , which is a resident breeding species from southeastern Mexico to eastern Panama .

This species breeds in the Caribbean lowlands and foothills from sea level to about 1000m altitude, and is found in the canopy and middle levels of dense wet forests, tall second growth, and semi-open habitats such as woodland edge and clearings. The nest is a bowl constructed from Bromeliad leaves and other Epiphyte s 3-6 m high in a small tree or Palm . The female lays three brown-spotted gey-white eggs between April and June.

The adult Black-faced Grosbeak is 16.5 cm long, weighs 36 g, and has a heavy, mainly black, bill. It has a black face, yellow head, neck and breast, and olive back, wings and tail. The rump and belly are grey. Immatures are duller and have duskier face markings.

The Black-faced Grosbeak forages in shrubs or trees for Beetle s, Caterpillar s and other Insect s, and also eats fruit, Seed s and Nectar taken from flowers or epiphyte bracts. It forms noisy flocks of up to 20 birds, and is often in Mixed-species Feeding Flock s with Tanager s, Warblers and Honeycreeper s.

The vocalisations include sharp ''chip'' or ''tweet'' calls, buzzes and whistles, and the song is a musical whistled ''cher chi weet, cher chir weet, cher chi chuweet''.


REFERENCES

  • Stiles and Skutch, ''A guide to the birds of Costa Rica'' ISBN 0-0814-9600-4