Habitat
Rose-throated Becards typically inhabit the edges of woodlands and open forests. Across most of their range, they occur in tropical dry forest, patches of rainforest, forest along rivers and streams, regenerating woodland, lower elevation cloud forest, parks and campuses, and pine-oak woodland. At the northern edge of their range, these becards are restricted to habitats along streams where cottonwoods are the dominant trees.
Back to topFood
Rose-throated Becards feed on insects (especially caterpillars), fruits, and seed pods. A foraging becard sits upright on a perch for long periods, moving its head slowly in search of prey, and then makes a short flight to nab an insect from nearby foliage. This species sometimes also pursues flying insects.
Back to topNesting
Nest Placement
Typically hung at the end of a small branch in a tall deciduous tree. On average, nests are about 10 meters (33 feet) above the ground, but may range from 2.5 meters (8 feet) to 19 meters (62 feet). Becards often hang their nests over open spaces, including roads and water.
Nest Description
Both sexes build a large, domed structure, often globular or pear-shaped. The overall appearance is one of a big messy ball of dead leaves, dry grasses, stems, bark strips, and more. An opening near the middle or bottom of the side leads to an internal egg chamber. The nest is impressively large for a songbird that is only 16–18 cm (6–7 inches) long, ranging from 25–74 cm (10–29 inches) long and 20–38 cm (8–15 inches) wide.
Nesting Facts
| Clutch Size: | 3-6 eggs |
| Egg Description: | White, gray, creamy, cinnamon, or pale lilac with brown, lilac, or gray spots. Egg color can vary even within a single clutch. |
Behavior
Rose-throated Becards are often inconspicuous during the breeding season as they sit alone in leafy vegetation for minutes on end, quietly surveying for nearby insects. They can be more noticeable in the nonbreeding season, when they often join mixed-species foraging flocks with warblers and other small birds. Even when they join flocks, Rose-throated Becards typically occur singly or in pairs.
This species is socially monogamous, but at least in some parts of its range, pair bonds might end after the breeding season. Both sexes help build the large domed nest. Unpaired individuals sometimes construct nests on their own. The female incubates the eggs and broods young nestlings, but both adults feed and care for the young, which remain in the nest for at least 18 days.
Back to topConservation
Partners in Flight estimates Rose-throated Becard’s global breeding population size at 2,000,000 individuals and rates the species an 11 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score, indicating a species of fairly low conservation concern.
Back to topCredits
Dunne, P. (2006). Pete Dunne's essential field guide companion. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York, USA.
Greenlaw, J. S. (2020). Rose-throated Becard (Pachyramphus aglaiae), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rotbec.01
Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb (1995). A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Partners in Flight (2023). Avian Conservation Assessment Database, version 2023.
Sibley, D. A. (2014). The Sibley Guide to Birds, second edition. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY, USA.
Stiles, F. G., and A. F. Skutch (1989). A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, USA.