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The black-headed saltator (''Saltator atriceps'') is a seedeating bird. Traditionally placed in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae), it actually seems to be closer to the tanagers (Thraupidae).〔See the genus article for details〕 It breeds from central Mexico to eastern Panama. The genus ''Saltator'' is apparently polyphyletic.〔 Whether the present species will remain in ''Saltator'' or eventually be moved to another genus remains to be seen. Somewhat similar in coloration to the buff-throated saltator, the genus' type species (which would retain the genus name), it resembles the probably well distant black-throated saltator or even the golden-billed saltator in other aspects.〔Hellack & Schnell (1977). Note that this is a phenetic study, giving a measure of similarity rather than relatedness.〕 This bird is on average 24 cm long and weighs 85 g. The adult has a slate-grey head with a whitish supercilium. The upperparts are yellowish green, the underparts are pale grey, and the throat is white edged with black. The thick convex bill is black and the legs are brown. Young birds are duller, and have mottling on the breast and brown markings on the underparts. This species is similar to the buff-throated saltator, but is larger and has a darker head and paler underparts. The common call is a raucous ''deeeer''. The song is a loud scratchy ''cher cher jur jur weeee'', often given by males as a duet. The black-headed saltator is a species of dense vegetation. The black-headed saltator feeds on fruit,〔E.g. of ''Cymbopetalum mayanum'' (Annonaceae): Forster (2007).〕 buds, nectar and slow-moving insects. It forages at low and mid levels, sometimes with mixed species flocks. The two black-marked pale blue eggs per clutch measure some 24–34 mm long by about 18-23.5 mm wide and weigh about 4.9-5.5 grams each.〔I.e. large among ''Saltator'' eggs (Echeverry-Galvis & Córdoba-Córdoba 2006). A specimen measuring 36.2 mm long and 18.7 mm wide seems to have an abnormal shape.〕 They are laid in a bulky grass-lined cup nest up to 3 m high in a thicket between April and July. ==Footnotes== 〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Black-headed saltator」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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