Caatinga puffbird

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Caatinga puffbird
Nystalus maculatus 109686740.jpg
N. m. maculatus

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Bucconidae
Genus: Nystalus
Species:
N. maculatus
Binomial name
Nystalus maculatus
(Gmelin, 1788)
Nystalus maculatus map.svg
Synonyms

Nystalus maculatus maculatus

The caatinga puffbird (Nystalus maculatus) is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is endemic to Brazil.[2]

Taxonomy and systematics[]

The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) treats Nystalus maculatus 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 nominate subspecies of spot-backed puffbird, N. m. maculatus.[2][3][4][5]

Description[]

The caatinga puffbird is 18 to 19 cm (7.1 to 7.5 in) long and weighs 32 to 38 g (1.1 to 1.3 oz). It has a dark brown crown with bold buffy spangles and a pale rufous collar on the hindneck. Its upperparts and wing coverts are dark brown with buffy spangles and bars. The long, narrow, tail has broad black and narrow buffy bars. The face is mostly off-white with dusky streaks that are darker to the rear; it has a buffy supercilium. The chin is white and the throat, upper breast, and sides of the neck are orange-red. The rest of the underparts are white with bold black spots on the upper breast and black streaks on the flanks. The bill is mostly red, the eye pale yellow, and the feet brownish olive.[6]

Distribution and habitat[]

The caatinga puffbird is found in northeastern and central Brazil, as far south as southwestern Mato Grosso. It is a bird of the lowland and foothill cerrado, caatinga, and campo regions. It inhabits a variety of semi-open landscapes including the interior and edges of deciduous woodland, savanna, palm groves, shrub- and scrublands, and pastures. It is thought to be resident year round, though there might be some seasonal wandering in parts of its range.[6]

Behavior[]

Feeding[]

The caatinga puffbird hunts by sallying from a low perch to capture prey on the ground or foliage. Its diet is mostly insects including caterpillars.[6]

Breeding[]

The caatinga puffbird's breeding phenology has not been fully documented. It nests in a leaf-lined cavity in a soil bank or level ground. The clutch size is two or three eggs.[6]

Dickcissel male perched on a metal pole singing, with neck stretched and beak open.

Songs and calls
Listen to caatinga puffbird on xeno-canto

Vocalization[]

The caatinga puffbird's song is an "[u]ndulating 'tewre-tewtewretewtewre'", often sung as a duet or by three birds.[6]

Status[]

The IUCN follows HBW in treating the caatinga 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.[1] It appears to be common throughout its range.[6]

Gallery[]

  • Caatinga puffbird nest opening

  • Caatinga puffbird nest

  • Caatinga puffbird

References[]

  1. ^ a b BirdLife International (2016). "Spot-backed Puffbird Nystalus maculatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P. (July 2021). "IOC World Bird List (v 11.2)". Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b c d e f 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
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