The black-crowned tityra (Tityra inquisitor) is a medium-sized passerine bird. It is found in Mexico, every Central American country except El Salvador, and every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay.
Taxonomy and systematics
The black-crowned tityra has a complicated taxonomic history. It was originally described in 1823 as Lanius inquisitor, mistakenly placing it in the shrike family. In 1851 Johann Jakob Kaup placed it in a new genus, Psaris; he noted that the genus was a synonym for Tityra that Vieillot had erected in 1816. In the early twentieth century some authors placed it in its own genus Erator which was then merged into Tityra in 1929, though some authors in the 1970s urged the species' return to Erator. All of the tityras were for a time included in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae before they, becards, and a few other species were assigned to their current family Tityridae.
The black-crowned tityra has these six subspecies:
T. i. fraserii (Kaup, 1852)
T. i. albitorques Du Bus de Gisignies, 1847
T. i. buckleyi Salvin & Godman, 1890
T. i. erythrogenys (Selby, 1826)
T. i. pelzelni Salvin & Godman, 1890
T. i. inquisitor (Lichtenstein, MHC, 1823)
Description
The black-capped tityra is 16.5 to 20.5 cm (6.5 to 8.1 in) long and weighs 33.8 to 70 g (1.2 to 2.5 oz). The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males of the nominate subspecies T. i. inquisitor have a mostly black head. Their nape and upperparts are whitish gray with a pearly gray cast. Their wings are mostly black with grayish white tertials. Their tail is black. Their throat and underparts are white. Adult females have a buffy forehead and a black cap on an otherwise chestnut or rusty face. Their upperparts are a slightly darker gray than the male's with dusky brownish streaks and coarse blackish spots. Their wings and tail are like the male's. Their throat and underparts are washed with dingy pale grayish buff.
The other subspecies of the black-capped tityra...
