Rose-throated Becard
(Pachyramphus aglaiae)
eBird provides this description for the Rose-Throated Becard: Rather chunky, big-headed bird with a bushy crest. Male varies from pale gray (in drier areas) to dark slaty gray (in rainforest); pink throat patch absent in darkest rainforest birds. Female also variable, but always has bushy blackish cap. Young male looks like female with variable pink on throat. Widespread in tropical and subtropical areas in Middle America, also locally in the highlands. Favors woodland and forest edge, but also found in brushy fields, hedgerows, and most habitats with a scattering of larger trees; often at fruiting trees. Feeds rather sluggishly, often craning its head back and forth deliberately.
I saw, and heard, my first Rose-throated Becard in the area of the Patagonia Roadside Rest Area during the early afternoon of Wednesday, August 3, 2022, in Patagonia, Arizona. I was with a small group that was part of the 2022 Southwest Wings Festival, led by guide Richard Fray. To see my blog post that includes my visit to the Patagonia Roadside Rest Area, look here. We walked a trail across the road from the Rest Area to an active Becard nest. In short order, we began to hear the call of the Rose-throated Becard and we spent about 30 minutes listening and watching as the bird(s) flitted around the treetops. I mostly heard calls and got glimpses of the bird in flight, but was able to get one photo that I believe shows the rose colored throat of the Becard.