Sharpbill

Sharpbill

The Sharpbill (Oxyruncus cristatus) is a small drab bird. Its range is from the mountainous areas of tropical South America and southern Central America (Panama and Costa Rica).

It inhabits the canopy of wet forest and feeds on fruit and some invertebrates. It has an orange erectile crest, black-spotted yellowish underparts and scaling on the head and neck. As its name implies, it has a sharp bill.

Sharpbills are most commonly found in tall dense forests but occasionally venture to the forest edge. Their diet consists of primarily of fruit, but they will also take insects, hanging upside down in from twigs to obtain insect larvae. They will also travel in mixed-species feeding flocks with ovenbirds, tanagers, woodpeckers and cotingas. The nest of the Sharpbill is built by the female and is a small cup built on a slender branch. Chicks are fed by regurgitation.

It is often considered to be the sole member of the passerine bird family Oxyruncidae. Recent genetic evidence suggests it belongs in the family Tityridae,but, as recommended by SACC, it is retained as incertae sedis until this placement is confirmed by additional data.