Nine families of largely arboreal birds make up the order Piciformes, the best-known of them being the Picidae, which includes the woodpeckers and close relatives. The Piciformes contain about 71 living genera with a little over 450 species, of which the Picidae make up about half.
The jacamars are a family, Galbulidae, of near passerine birds from tropical South and Central America, extending up to Mexico. The family contains five genera and 18 species. The family is closely related to the puffbirds, another Neotropical family, and the two families are often separated into their own order, Galbuliformes, separate from the Piciformes. They are principally birds of low-altitude woodlands and forests, and particularly of forest edge and canopy.
The puffbirds and their relatives in the near passerine family Bucconidae are tropical tree-dwelling insectivorous birds that are found from South America up to Mexico. Together with their closest relatives, the jacamars, they form a divergent lineage within the order Piciformes, though the two families are sometimes elevated to a separate order Galbuliformes. Lacking the iridescent colours of the jacamars, puffbirds are mainly brown, rufous or grey, with large heads, large eyes, and flattened bills with a hooked tip. Their loose, abundant plumage and short tails makes them look stout and puffy, giving rise to the English name of the family. The species range in size from the rufous-capped nunlet, at 13 cm (5.1 in) and 14 g (0.49 oz), to the white-necked puffbird, at up to 29 cm (11 in) and 106 g (3.7 oz).
The sooty-capped puffbird is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is endemic to Colombia.
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 white-chested puffbird is a species of near-passerine bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is one of seven species in the genus Malacoptila. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The moustached puffbird is a species of near-passerine bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is one of seven species in the genus Malacoptila. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
The rufous-necked puffbird is a species of near-passerine bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru.
The semicollared puffbird is a species of near-passerine bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is one of seven species of the genus Malacoptila. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru.
The brown nunlet is a species of near-passerine bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The grey-cheeked nunlet is a species of near-passerine bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Colombia and Panama.
Notharchus is a genus of puffbird in the Bucconidae family.
The Guianan puffbird is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The barred puffbird is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Panama, Colombia and Ecuador.
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.
Pici is one of the two suborders of the order Piciformes and includes two infraorders Ramphastides and Picides. Members of this suborder are often called "true piciforms", as the jacamars of Galbulidae and puffbirds of Bucconidae were thought to be not closely related to toucans and woodpeckers, but instead to the order Coraciiformes. However, analysis of nuclear DNA in a 2003 study placed them as a sister group to the rest of the Piciformes, also showing that the groups had developed zygodactyl feet before separating. Per Ericson and colleagues, in analysing genomic DNA, confirmed that puffbirds and jacamars were sister groups and their place in Piciformes.
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.
