| Caatinga puffbird | |
|---|---|
 | |
| N. m. maculatus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Piciformes |
| Family: | Bucconidae |
| Genus: | Nystalus |
| Species: | N. maculatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Nystalus maculatus (Gmelin, JF, 1788) | |
 | |
| Synonyms | |
Alcedo maculata (protonym) | |
The Caatinga puffbird (Nystalus maculatus) is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is endemic to Brazil.
The Caatinga puffbird was described in 1648 by the German naturalist Georg Marcgrave in his Historia Naturalis Brasiliae . In his Latin text Marcgrave used the name Matuitui which was the local name for the bird in the Tupi language. [2] A series of later ornithologists based their own descriptions on that by Marcgrave. These include Francis Willughby in 1678, [3] John Ray in 1713, [4] Mathurin Brisson in 1760, [5] the Comte de Buffon in 1780, [6] and John Latham in 1782. [7]
When the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin revised and expanded Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae in 1788 he included the caatinga puffbird and cited descriptions by earlier ornithologists. He placed it with the kingfishers in the genus Alcedo and coined the binomial name Alcedo maculata. [8] [9] The specific epithet is Latin and means "spotted" or "blotched". [10] In 1807 the caatinga puffbird was accurately described and illustrated from a specimen in the Paris museum by the French naturalist François Levaillant. [11] The caatinga puffbird is now one of six species placed in the genus Nystalus that was introduced in 1863 by Jean Cabanis and Ferdinand Heine. [12]
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. [12] [13] [14] [15]
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. [16]
The song is an "[u]ndulating 'tewre-tewtewretewtewre'", often sung as a duet or by three birds. [16]
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. [16]
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. [16]
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. [16]
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. [16]
The horned screamer is a member of a small family of birds, the Anhimidae, which occurs in wetlands of tropical South America. There are three screamer species, the other two being the southern screamer and the northern screamer in the genus Chauna. They are related to the ducks, geese and swans, which are in the family Anatidae, but have bills looking more like those of game birds.
The great tinamou is a species of tinamou ground bird native to Central and South America. There are several subspecies, mostly differentiated by their coloration.
The guira cuckoo is a gregarious bird found widely in open and semi-open habitats of northeastern, eastern and southern Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and northeastern Argentina. It is the only species placed in the genus Guira.
The collared aracari or collared araçari is a near-passerine bird in the toucan family Ramphastidae. It is found from Mexico to Colombia and Venezuela.
The collared puffbird is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The golden parakeet or golden conure, or the Queen of Bavaria conure is a medium-sized golden-yellow Neotropical parrot native to the Amazon Basin of interior northern Brazil. It is the only species placed in the genus Guaruba.
The white-headed munia is a species of estrildid finch found in Teladan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. This species is also introduced to Portugal. It is found in wetlands habitat. The status of the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
The little woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in every mainland South American country except Chile, Suriname, and Uruguay.
The jandaya parakeet or jenday conure is a small Neotropical parrot with green wings and tail, reddish-orange body, yellow head and neck, orange cheeks, and black bill, native to wooded habitats in northeastern Brazil. It is a member of the Aratinga solstitialis complex of parakeets very closely related to, and possibly subspecies of the sun parakeet.
The plain-bellied emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Brazil, the Guianas, and Venezuela.
The yellow-green grosbeak is a species of grosbeak in the family Cardinalidae.
Bucco is a genus of birds in the puffbird family Bucconidae. Birds in the genus are native to the Americas.
The spotted puffbird is a species of puffbird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The pied puffbird is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
Nystalus is a genus of puffbirds in the family Bucconidae.
The eastern striolated puffbird is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Bolivia and Brazil.
The São Tomé green pigeon is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the island of São Tomé in São Tomé and Príncipe. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. The species was described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789. They have disappeared from Ilhéu das Rolas due to habitat loss. There are around 10,000 pigeons of this species today.
The campo troupial or campo oriole is a species of bird in the family Icteridae that is found in northeastern Brazil. At one time thought to be conspecific with the Venezuelan troupial and orange-backed troupial, it is now accepted as a separate species. It is a fairly common bird and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as a "least-concern species".
The western striolated puffbird is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The Chaco puffbird is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay.
