Chaco puffbird explained

The Chaco puffbird (Nystalus striatipectus) is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay.[1]

Taxonomy and systematics

The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) treats Nystalus striatipectus as a monotypic species. However, the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (SACC), the Clements taxonomy, and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) all treat it as the junior subspecies of spot-backed puffbird, N. maculatus striatipectus.[1] [2] [3] [4]

Description

The Chaco puffbird is 18cmto19cmcm (07inchesto07inchescm) long and weighs 33to. It has a dark brown crown with bold buffy spangles and a very pale rufous collar on the hindneck. Its upperparts and wing coverts are dark brown with a few buffy spangles and bars. The long, narrow, tail has narrow black and buffy bands. The face is mostly off-white with heavy dusky streaks; it has a buffy supercilium. The chin is white and the throat, upper breast, and sides of the neck are pale orange-red. The rest of the underparts are white with black streaks on the breast and flanks. The bill is mostly red, the eye pale yellow, and the feet brownish olive.[5]

Distribution and habitat

The Chaco puffbird is found in the departments of Cochabamba, Chuquisaca, and Santa Cruz of south-central and southeastern Bolivia, in the south-central Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, in western Paraguay, and in northwestern Argentina as far south as Córdoba Province. It is a bird of the Gran Chaco, where it inhabits dry subtropical and transitional forest and isolated woodland patches. It ranges as high as 2000m (7,000feet) in Bolivia. It is not known to migrate.[5]

Behavior

Feeding

The Chaco puffbird hunts by sallying from a low perch to capture prey on the ground or foliage. Its diet is mostly insects including caterpillars.[5]

Breeding

The Chaco puffbird breeds in October in Paraguay and between January and February in Bolivia. It nests in a leaf-lined cavity in a soil bank or level ground. The clutch size is two or three eggs.[5]

Vocalization

The Chaco puffbird's song is a "disyllabic 3-note whistle, 'tuhú tuhú tuhú, often sung as a duet or by three birds.[5]

Status

The IUCN follows HBW in treating the Chaco puffbird as a subspecies of spot-backed puffbird; the spot-backed is assessed as being of Least Concern. Taken as a whole, it has a very large range. Its population has not been quantified but is believed to be stable.[6] It is common in much of its range though apparently rare in Paraguay.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: IOC World Bird List (v 11.2) . Gill . F. . Donsker. D.. Rasmussen . P. . July 2021 . July 14, 2021 .
  2. Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 August 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved August 24, 2021
  3. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 25, 2021
  4. HBW and BirdLife International (2020) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world Version 5. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v5_Dec20.zip [.xls zipped 1 MB] retrieved May 27, 2021
  5. Rasmussen, P. C. and N. Collar (2020). Spot-backed Puffbird (Nystalus maculatus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.spbpuf1.01 retrieved November 2, 2021
  6. Spot-backed Puffbird Nystalus maculatus . BirdLife International . BirdLife International . 2016 . 2 November 2021.