The green-and-black fruiteater (Pipreola riefferii) is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae, the cotingas. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
Taxonomy and systematics
The green-and-black fruiteater was originally described as Ampelis riefferii. It was soon moved to its present genus Pipreola.
The green-and-black fruiteater's further taxonomy is unsettled. The IOC and Birdlife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World assign it these six subspecies:
P. r. occidentalis (Chapman, 1914)
P. r. riefferii (Boissonneau, 1840)
P. r. confusa Zimmer, JT, 1936
P. r. chachapoyas (Hellmayr, 1915)
P. r. melanolaema Sclater, PL, 1856
P. r. tallmanorum O'Neill & Parker, TA, 1981
However, the Clements taxonomy does not recognize P. r. confusa, including it within P. r. chachapoyas.
What is now the band-tailed fruiteater (P. intermedia) was originally described as a subspecies of the green-and-black fruiteater. Authors have suggested that both P. r. tallmanorum and P. r. melanolaema deserve full species status.
Description
The green-and-black fruiteater is 17.5 to 20 cm (6.9 to 7.9 in) long and weighs 46 to 61 g (1.6 to 2.2 oz). The sexes have different plumage. Adult males of the nominate subspecies P. r. riefferii have an entirely blackish green head and upper breast with a yellow band ("collar") around its base except on the nape. Their upperparts and tail are green and the wings mostly that color; the wing's tertials have white tips. Their underparts are yellow with black streaks that are heavier on the flanks than in the center. Females have a green head instead of the male's black and no yellow collar.
The other subspecies of the green-and-black fruiteater differ from the nominate and each other thus:
P. r. occidentalis: males have a greenish wash on the throat and chest and only faint white tertial tips
P. r. confusa: smaller than nominate; greenish upper breast and heavy green streaks on underparts
P. r....
