PUFFBIRDS   -   BUCCONIDAE

White-necked Puffbird Notharchus hyperrhynchus hyperrhynchus La Selva OTS, Heredia province, Costa Rica A different angle, but useful to compare with the next shot. (D3)

White-necked Puffbird Notharchus hyperrhynchus hyperrhynchus Tundaloma Lodge, Esmeraldas province, Ecuador. I digiscoped this one from a huge distance from the balcony of the lodge. (D3)

Guianan Puffbird Notharchus macrorhynchos Atta canopy walkway, Iwokrama Forest, Guyana. Recently split from White-necked Puffbird, N. hyperrhynchus (above) based on voice and several plumage differences. The most noticeable one in this photo is the less extensive white on the forehead and face. (D3)

Buff-bellied Puffbird Notharchus swainsoni Folha Seca, Ubatuba, São Paulo state, Brazil. Also recently split from White-necked Puffbird, N. hyperrhynchus. Comparing the two photos, they don't look very similar. This isn't a great shot, but I've only seen this bird a few times. (D2)		Buff-bellied Puffbird Notharchus swainsoni Angelim Rainforest, São Paulo state, Brazil. A more recent, and perhaps slightly better photo. (D3)

Black-breasted Puffbird Notharchus pectoralis Pipeline road, Soberania NP, Panama. Impersonating a bittern?? (S2f)

Brown-banded Puffbird Notharchus ordii Cristalino Jungle Lodge, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. A rare and very local puffbird, found in scattered locations in the Amazon. It took me many years to find this one! (D3)

Pied Puffbird Notharchus tectus tectus Serra dos Carajás, Pará state, Brazil. The smallest of the Notharchus, distinguished by its spotted crown, narrow white eyebrow, and white wing patch. (D3)

Chestnut-capped Puffbird Bucco macrodactylus macrodactylus Shaime, Zamora-Chinchipe province, Ecuador. One of my favorites, we saw this beautful bird at the Orange-throated Tanager stakeout outside a Shuar village. It was at nearly 1000m elevation. (D3)

Spotted Puffbird Bucco tamatia tamatia Annai, Guyana. This bird is extremely rare and local through much of its range, but in Guyana it is surprisingly common. It even occurs in rather dry forest here. This is the nominate race, which has extensive scaling below, not spotting. (D3)

Spotted Puffbird Bucco tamatia pulmentum Cristalino Jungle Lodge, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. The dark spotting and white belly give this race a very different look. (S6)

Collared Puffbird Bucco capensis dugandi Manu Wildlife Center, Madre de Dios department, Peru. A classic neotropical bird. It can be rather common, but often overlooked as it is inconspicuous and doesn't vocalize much. Oscar Tapuy, one of the top guides in the Ecuadorian Amazon, once told me this was his favorite bird. (D2)

Barred Puffbird Nystalus radiatus Pacto-Guayllabillas road, Pichincha province, Ecuador Found in lowland and foothill forests from Panama to Ecuador. (S5)

Striolated Puffbird Nystalus striolatus striolatus Loreto Road, Napo province, Ecuador. Not the best photo, but the only one I have. They occur higher in Ecuador (where I have only seen them from about 1100-1400m elevation) than in most other parts of their range (D2)

White-eared Puffbird Nystalus chacuru torridus Chapada dos Guimarães, Mato Gross state, Brazil. One of the few puffbirds that doesn't live in forest. This one was in dry cerrado bushland, where the tallest trees were only about three meters high. (D3)

Spot-backed Puffbird Nystalus maculatus maculatus Canudos-Jeremoaba road, Bahia state, Brazil. An evil-looking puffbird inhabiting dry forests from Peru to Argentina. This is the nominate subspecies from Brazil, which is usally called Caatinga Puffbird when split. (S6)

Spot-backed Puffbird Nystalus maculatus striatipectus Near Palomitas, Salta province, Argentina. This subspecies is streaked underneath instead of spotted. It is found mainly in the chaco region, leading to the english name Chaco Puffbird when the two are considered separate species. (D3)

Russet-throated Puffbird Hypnelus ruficollis striaticollis(?) 20km south of Coro, Falcón state. A species restricted to Colombia and Venezuela, and it is geographically variable. This bird seems intermediate between the two-banded forms to the east and the single-banded forms to the west (compare with the next shot). Perhaps a hybrid? (D3)

Russet-throated Puffbird Hypnelus ruficollis decolor Caricari, La Guajira department, Colombia. This subspecies is part of the single-banded "ruficollis group". (S6)

White-chested Puffbird Malacoptila fusca fusca Sacha Lodge, Orellana province, Ecuador. This bird flew into the trail in front of us and caught this huge cicada. It proceeded to beat it against the ground for five minutes before flying away into the forest with it, so we never knew if it ever managed to eat that thing. (D3)

Crescent-chested Puffbird Malacoptila striata striata Reserva Ecologica de Guapi Assu, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. A striking Atlantic Rainforest endemic; it seems to be more common here than anywhere else I know. I photographed this one right next to the lodge! (D2)

White-whiskered Puffbird Malacoptila panamensis panamensis Pipeline road, Soberania NP, Panama. A puffbird that lives up to its name; it looks like someone inflated it. A common inhabitant of lowland rainforests from Mexico to western Ecuador. (S2f)

Black-streaked Puffbird Malacoptila fulvogularis fulvogularis Road to Pacto Sumaco, Napo province, Ecuador. A specialty of foothill and subtropical cloudforests on the eastern slopes of the Andes. (D2)

Moustached Puffbird Malacoptila mystacalis Líbano, Tolima department, Colombia. A puffbird found from the Andes of Colombia east through the coastal mountains of Venezuela. (S5)		Moustached Puffbird Malacoptila mystacalis Líbano, Tolima department, Colombia. Who says birds don't yawn? (S5)

Rusty-breasted Nunlet Nonnula rubecula rubecula Parque Estadual Intervales, São Paulo state, Brazil. A fairly widespread bird in the Amazon and the SE Brazil region, but very rarely encountered. (D6)

Brown Nunlet Nonnula brunnea Yasuní Research Station, Orellana province, Ecuador. This cute puffbird is only found in the extreme western part of the Amazon in Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia. (S6)

Lanceolated Monklet Micromonacha lanceolata Yasuní Research Station, Orellana province, Ecuador. This bird had a nest burrowed into an earthen bank just off the side of a dirt road at the entrance to the research station. It did not take the food into the nest while present. Photo taken 21 August 2010. (S6f)

Lanceolated Monklet Micromonacha lanceolata Sacha Lodge, Orellana province, Ecuador. It is widespread, but I encounter it very infrequently. (D3)

White-faced Nunbird Hapaloptila castanea Tandayapa Bird Lodge, Pichincha province, Ecuador. Always one of my favorites. The Tandayapa area is by far the most reliable place in the world to see this rare species. (D3)

White-faced Nunbird Hapaloptila castanea Tandayapa Bird Lodge, Pichincha province, Ecuador. I spend weeks studying the first nest back in 2000, and the results were published in Cotinga 22. This photo was also published in Volume 7 of Handbook of Birds of the World. (S1)

Black Nunbird Monasa atra Imitaca Forest (Rio Grande), Bolívar state, Venezuela. I don't know how it managed to swallow that, but it did. (D3)

Black-fronted Nunbird Monasa nigrifrons nigrifrons Anavilhanas archipelago, Amazonas state, Brazil. This bird was probably in the process of building a nest, check out the dirt on its claws and beak. (D3)

White-fronted Nunbird Monasa morphoeus peruana Yasuní Research Station, Orellana province, Ecuador. In the Amazon, these birds are flock leaders. Their rollicking songs are often a harbinger of in incoming mixed flock. (S6)

Yellow-billed Nunbird Monasa flavirostris Yasuní Research Station, Orellana province, Ecuador. Restricted to the western and southwestern Amazon. (S6)

Swallow-winged Puffbird Chelidoptera tenebrosa tenebrosa Mitú, Vaupés department, Colombia. A widespread species in tropical rainforest in South America east of the Andes. It is most common along rivers, but can still often found away from them. (S6)

Swallow-winged Puffbird Chelidoptera tenebrosa brasiliensis Estação Veracruz, Porto Seguro, Bahia state, Brazil. This is the subspecies endemic to the Atlantic Forest, differing in the coloration of the underparts. (D3)