Animalia Life

Pachyramphus aglaiae
TAXONOMY
Platyrhynchus aglaiae Lafresnaye, 1839, Jalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. Monotypic.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Bйcarde а gorge rose; German: Dickkopfbekarde; Spanish: Bacaco de Garganta Rosada.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
(6.5–7.25 in (16.5–18.5 cm). The male has dark gray upperparts, pale gray underparts, a blackish cap and nape, and a bright pink patch at the throat. The female has a gray crown, grayish brown or cinnamon upperparts, buff underparts, and a whitish throat. Body shape is stocky with a relatively big head. Juveniles are similar in color to adult females.
DISTRIBUTION
Central America and Mexico. Also occurs in parts of southeast Arizona and southwest Texas during breeding season.
HABITAT
Open forests, forest edges, wooded canyons, and mountains. As the nest hangs from a tree branch high above the ground, the species requires areas with tall trees.
BEHAVIOR
Lives singly or in pairs, sometimes joins foraging flocks. Vocalizations include a soft, down-slurred whistle “tseeoou!” sometimes preceded by some reedy chatter. At dawn, its song is a reedy, complaining, long “wheeuu-whyeeeuuur, wheeuu-whyeeeuuur!”
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Sits nearly motionless on a branch, hidden among leaves, watching for insects from the middle levels of clearings or forest edges. Sallies forth to snag insects from foliage or in flight and returns to same perch. Diet consists of insects, their larvae, and sometimes wild fruits and berries.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Breeds in monogamous pairs, once per year, and male and female share nest-building duties, although the female carries a larger burden. Nests are spherical and hang from a branch of a deciduous tree. Clutches include two to six eggs, which the female incubates for 15 to 17 days. Juveniles fledge at 19 to 21 days and are fed by both parents.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened. Rarely hosts cowbird parasitism.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.

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