About Caryothraustes poliogaster (Du Bus de Gisignies, 1847)
The adult black-faced grosbeak, Caryothraustes poliogaster, measures 16.5 cm in length and weighs 36 g. It has a heavy, mostly black bill, along with a black face, yellow head, neck and breast, and olive-colored back, wings and tail. Its rump and belly are grey. Immature black-faced grosbeaks are duller in color and have duskier face markings. This species' vocalizations include sharp chip or tweet calls, buzzes and whistles; its song is a musical whistled sequence: cher chi weet, cher chir weet, cher chi chuweet. This species breeds in Central American lowlands and foothills, ranging from sea level up to around 1000 m in altitude. It occupies the canopy and middle levels of dense wet forests, tall second growth, and semi-open habitats including woodland edge and clearings. It builds a bowl-shaped nest from bromeliad leaves and other epiphytes, placed 3 to 6 meters high in a small tree or palm. Between April and June, females lay three grey-white eggs marked with brown spots.
