Black-backed Grosbeak - BirdForum Opus

Female
Photo by Stanley Jones
Aguas Calientes, Peru, September, 2009

Pheucticus aureoventris

Identification

22cm (8½ in)
Male

• Black upperparts
• Speckled yellow belly
• Heavy black bill

Sexes slightly dimorphic

Distribution

South America: found in Colombia, western Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, central and south-western Brazil, Paraguay, north-western Argentina

Taxonomy

Photo by Felix Wilson
Calilegua National Park, Jujuy, Argentina, 1999

Subspecies

There are 5 subspecies^[1]:

• P. a. meridensis (Merida):

• Andes of western Venezuela (Mérida)

• P. a. crissalis (Yellow-throated):

• Andes of south-western Colombia (Nariño) and Ecuador
  

Yellow-rumped

• P. a. uropygialis':

• Eastern and Central Andes of Colombia

• P. a. terminalis:

• Andes of eastern Peru (Amazonas and Cuzco)
  

Black-rumped

• P. a. aureoventris:

• South Peru (Puno) to eastern Bolivia, northern Paraguay, western Brazil and north-western Argentina

Habitat

Disturbed riparian secondary montane evergreen forest with ornamentals, scrubby woodland, well-bushed gardens. Humid Subtropical Life Zone. Observed at heights around 2040 m.

Behaviour

Diet

Their diet consists of berries, seeds and insects. They have also been observed feeding on flowers in Colombia.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. BF Member observations
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved September 2015)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Black-backed Grosbeak. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 24 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-backed_Grosbeak

External Links

Search for photos of Black-backed Grosbeak in the gallery