Tityras, becards and allies | Tityridae

Bekardes en tityra's | Titiras y cabezones | Tityras, becards and allies

A family of tropical American suboscine songbirds numbering 26 species in seven genera in this guide, from the Chocó and the Andean slopes to the Amazonian lowlands, in forest, forest edge, plantations and semi-open country with trees. It is a composite group of varied appearance. The tityras are sturdy, large-headed birds, the males pearly white or pale grey with black, some with bare red skin around the eye and bill base; they perch conspicuously in treetops, eat mainly fruit and large insects and give dry, grunting or croaking calls. They nest in a cavity, often an old woodpecker hole. The becards are smaller, large-headed and fairly short-tailed, with a broad bill; the sexes usually differ, grey and black in the male and cinnamon in the female. They search the foliage for insects and build a large, untidy globular nest with an entrance at the side or bottom, hanging from a branch. The schiffornises and mourners are brownish, inconspicuous birds of the understory, more often heard than seen thanks to their clear, whistled songs.