Black Solitaire

The black solitaire is about 23 cm (9.1 in) long; one individual weighed 56 g (2.0 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults are almost entirely glossy black. They have silvery white "cheeks" from the base of the bill to the ear coverts, white underwing coverts, and white lower halves of their outer tail feathers. They have a red iris, a black maxilla, a yellowish orange mandible, and dark grayish brown legs and feet. Juveniles are mostly dull brown with less white than adults.

The black solitaire is a bird of the Chocó region from Chocó Department in west-central Colombia south to Pichincha Province in northwestern Ecuador. It is found intermittently within that overall range. It inhabits the interior and edges of wet forest in the tropical and lower subtropical zones and occasionally is found in secondary forest. It especially favors forest that is dense with mosses. In elevation it is found between 400 and 2,300 m (1,300 and 7,500 ft) in Colombia and between 1,100 and 1,600 m (3,600 and 5,200 ft) in Ecuador.

The black solitaire feeds on fruit, taking it at all levels of the forest. It primarily forages singly or in pairs but will share fruiting trees with small numbers of its and other species.