Category: Birdwatching

_{This YouTube video was produced by the American Bird Conservancy.}

As renowned naturalist Alexander Skutch once remarked: “Although the anis have much to recommend them to the attention of the naturalist, it is not by their beauty that they attract him.”

With its rumpled appearance and ungainly movements, the Groove-billed Ani might not be the most beautiful bird, but it is no doubt a fascinating species. Its highly-arched, grooved beak inspired its species name sulcirostris, a combination of the Latin words for “groove” and “beak.” Its genus name, Crotophaga, comes from Greek and Latin words for tick and eating, reflecting

_{This YouTube video was produced by the American Bird Conservancy.}

The sleek, Velvety Black-tyrant or maria-preta-de-garganta-vermelha in Portuguese, is found only in dry grasslands and forests of eastern Brazil, where its inky black plumage appears almost like a silhouette against the surrounding rocky, shrubby terrain. It shares these arid places with other rare endemics such as the Blue-eyed Ground-Dove, and the White-browed Antpitta.

This flycatcher belongs to the enormous Tyrannidae (tyrant flycatcher) family, the largest bird family in the Americas. This feisty, fearless family of birds reaches its greatest number and diversity in South America, and includes species such as