Rusty-breasted Nunlet

Overview

The rusty-breasted nunlet (Nonnula rubecula) is a near-passerine bird belonging to the family Bucconidae, which includes puffbirds and nunbirds. It is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN but is believed to have a decreasing population.

Identification

• Measures 14 to 16 cm in length and weighs between 17 and 20 g.
• The nominate subspecies exhibits two or three color morphs, featuring dark gray-brown upperparts, rufous lores with a whitish band joining a white eye-ring, and brown breasts and flanks with a reddish tinge.
• Vocalisation consists of a mewing series of 'weeip' notes that rise in both pitch and volume, though it does not sing frequently.

Habitat

This species occupies two disjunct areas across South America, including parts of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela, and possibly French Guiana. It primarily inhabits humid terra firme and várzea forest, as well as secondary forest and edges, typically within the midstory of the forest.

Diet

Its diet comprises large arthropods, including both adult and larval forms. The bird occasionally joins mixed-species foraging flocks for brief periods.

Did you know?

Previously assumed to nest in burrows, research published in 2020 revealed that the rusty-breasted nunlet actually constructs its nest in a shallow scrape on sloping ground, which it roofs with twigs and leaves.