All species › Passerines › Tityras and becards › Jamaican Becard
Jamaican Becard | Pachyramphus niger
Jamaicaanse bekarde | Anambé jamaicano
The Jamaican Becard is the only becard of the Greater Antilles and occurs only in Jamaica. It is a sturdy, large-headed tree-dwelling bird with differently coloured sexes: the male is black, the female rufous and cinnamon. It moves slowly through the foliage and often perches upright on a branch for long spells, turning its head slowly from side to side. Its large globular nest is often found before the bird itself.
Voice
Loud, squeaky calls, including a rapid, rather plaintive kelelelelelee-oh that rises and then falls. Also two hoarse queeck notes followed by a musical phrase that gradually rises and falls again.
Recording: Ross Gallardy — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · converted to mono · xeno-canto
Identification
About 18 cm, stocky, with a large head and a short, thick bill. The male is entirely glossy black; white at the base of the wing shows only in flight. The female has a dark brown crown, rufous upperparts, cinnamon cheeks, throat, neck and upper breast, and pale grey lower breast and belly. Young males first resemble the female and gradually acquire black feathers.
Confusion species
The male may be confused with other black birds in Jamaica. Jamaican Blackbird Nesopsar nigerrimus is slimmer, with a long pointed bill, and forages in epiphytes in wet montane forest. Greater Antillean Grackle Quiscalus niger has a pale iris and a long keeled tail and lives in open country. Smooth-billed Ani Crotophaga ani has a deep, flattened bill and a long, loose tail; Jamaican Crow Corvus jamaicensis is much larger. The female may recall Rufous-tailed Flycatcher Myiarchus validus, which however has a grey head, a slight crest and a yellowish belly.
Habitat
Tall open forest and forest edge in the hills and lower mountains, also denser forest, limestone forest, wooded pastures, coffee plantations and gardens with large trees, from sea level to about 1800 m. It searches the middle and upper levels of trees for insects, spiders and the occasional lizard, taken by hovering or in a short sally, and eats much fruit, especially figs. It breeds from March to June, sometimes raising two broods. The nest is a large, untidy globe of varied plant material with the entrance at the bottom, hanging from the end of a branch; the clutch is three eggs.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation types of the Caribbean.
Range and movements
Only in Jamaica, across the whole island wherever there is forest or trees, most numerous in the hills and at middle elevations. After breeding the birds move downslope. The species does not occur outside Jamaica.
- Resident
- Winter visitor (c. Apr–Sep)
- Passage (Mar–Apr, Oct–Nov)
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
In the breeding season the large hanging nest on a high outer branch is often found before the bird, and the adults can then be followed as they come and go. Outside the breeding season, fig trees with ripe fruit are worth watching. The loud call is the best lead.
Conservation status
Not threatened. The species is widespread and locally fairly common, the population appears stable and it tolerates disturbed habitat such as wooded pastures and gardens.
Scientific name
Pachyramphus niger | (Gmelin, 1788)
Gmelin described the species in 1788 as [Lanius] niger; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Pachyramphus was introduced in 1840 by Gray. Pachyramphus is Greek, from pakhus 'thick' and rhamphos 'bill', after the stout, broad bill. niger is Latin for 'black', after the male's black plumage. The specimen the first description was based on came from Jamaica.