Black-billed peppershrike

Olive coloured overall with grey throat, belly, cheek and forecrown and a rufous stripe above the eye and lore. Differs from the more common Rufous-browed peppershrike by its black-tipped bill, thinner rufous superciliary stripe, and olive neck and cap.

The black-billed peppershrike was described by Frédéric de Lafresnaye in 1842 as Cyclaris nigrirostris (sic) from a specimen collected in Bogota. There are two recognised subspecies:

• Cyclaris nigrirostris nigrirostris Lafresnaye, 1842 — Colombia west of the East Andes as well as in Ecuador
• Cyclaris nigrirostric atrirostris Sclater, 1887 – West Andes of southern Colombia, further south into Pichincha Province, Ecuador

The black-billed peppershrike is found in the Andes of Colombia and Ecuador.

Its diet consists entirely of arthropods which it searches for in the canopy and mid-levels of trees. Found alone or alongside its mate. Little is known about its nesting habits but they are assumed to be similar to the Rufous-browed peppershrike which has been observed nesting in trees seven feet from the ground, with nests constructed out of moss. [2]