Barred Puffbird

Overview

The barred puffbird, Nystalus radiatus, is a monotypic bird species belonging to the family Bucconidae. It is a resident species found in Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador, currently assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

Identification

• Approximately 22 cm long, with a long, narrow, chestnut tail featuring narrow black bands.
• Blackish crown marked with dark rufous bars, transitioning to a black upper nape and yellowish-red lower nape.
• Face and underparts are pale rufous with fine blackish bars, excluding the center of the belly.
• Song is described as a long, slow, ventriloquial, and human-like wolf-whistle.

Habitat

Found from central Panama through northern and western Colombia into western Ecuador, typically up to 900 m in elevation. It inhabits lower levels of semi-open landscapes, including humid and wet forest borders, streamside vegetation, clearings with scattered trees, and forest trail edges. In Ecuador, it is also regularly recorded in agricultural areas, perching on wires.

Diet

The diet consists of large insects from several orders and small lizards. Specific foraging behaviours are undocumented, though other puffbirds typically hunt by sallying from a perch.

Did you know?

The species' only described nest was an intricate structure consisting of a cup of dead leaves situated within a spherical chamber at the end of a narrow tunnel excavated into a clay bank.