Guianan puffbird

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Guianan puffbird
Notharchus macrorhynchos - Guianan Puffbird.JPG
Guianan puffbird at Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Bucconidae
Genus: Notharchus
Species:
N. macrorhynchos
Binomial name
Notharchus macrorhynchos
(Gmelin, JF, 1788)
Notharchus macrorhynchos map.svg

The Guianan puffbird (Notharchus macrorhynchos) 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. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the white-necked puffbird and the buff-bellied puffbird with the English name "white-necked puffbird".

Contents

Taxonomy and systematics

The Guianan puffbird was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae . He placed it in the genus Bucco and coined the binomial name Bucco macrorhynchos. [2] Gmelin based his description on the Tamatias noirs et blancs or Barbu à gros bec, de Cayenne that had been described and illustrated in 1780 by the French polymath the Comte de Buffon. Buffon's specimen had been sent to Paris from Cayenne by Monsieur Duval. [3] [4] The Guianan puffbird is now placed in the genus Notharchus that was introduced in 1863 by the German ornithologists Jean Cabanis and Ferdinand Heine. [5] [6] The generic name combines the Ancient Greek nōthēs meaning "sluggish" and arkhos meaning "leader" or "chief". The specific epithet macrorhynchos is from Ancient Greek makrorrhunkhos and means "long-billed". [7]

The white-necked puffbird (Notharchus hyperrhynchus) and the buff-bellied puffbird (Notharchus swainsoni) were formerly considered as subspecies. [8] In 2002 Pamela Rasmussen and Nigel Collar, in their chapter in the Handbook of the Birds of the World , promoted swainsoni to species status and suggested that hyperrhynchus might also be a separate species. [9] In 2004 the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithologists' Union split macrorhynchos into three species. The English name "white-necked puffbird" was transferred to Notharchus hyperrhynchus and a new name "Guianan puffbird" given to the nominate subspecies Notharchus macrorhynchos. [10] [11] [12] [13] These changes have been adopted by other taxonomists. [6] [14] The Guianan puffbird is now considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [6]

Description

The Guianan puffbird is about 25 cm (9.8 in) long and weighs 81 to 106 g (2.9 to 3.7 oz). It is mostly glossy blue-black. It has a white forehead, throat, upper breast, and center of the belly. A broad black band separates the last two. The white of the throat extends as a narrow line around the nape. The flanks are barred black and white and the tail is black with narrow white tips to the feathers. The eye color varies from straw to red. The large bill and feet are black. [9]

The song is "a series of whistles...'ui-ui-ui... wi-di-dik wi-di-dik wi-di-dik...'". It also makes "a clear nasal falling 'düür'" call. [9]

Distribution and habitat

The Guianan puffbird is found in extreme eastern Venezuela, the Guianas, and northeastern Brazil north of the Amazon River. It inhabits primary tropical evergreen forest, semi-evergreen forest, and terra firme forest. It occurs at all levels from the ground to the canopy. [9]

Behavior

Feeding

The Guianan puffbird hunts from an open perch by sallying, either catching its insect prey on the wing or plucking it from vegetation, and usually returning to the same perch. It beats its catch on the perch before eating it. [9]

Breeding

Both sexes excavate the nest cavity, usually in an arboreal termitarium or rotting tree. Most nests are about 12 to 15 m (39 to 49 ft) above the ground, but they have been reported as low as 3 m (9.8 ft) and as high as 18 m (59 ft). Holes in the ground and an earth bank have also been reported. The clutch size is not known. [9]

Status

The IUCN has assessed the Guianan puffbird as being of Least Concern. It has a large range and a stable population of at least 50,000 mature individuals. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puffbird</span> Family of birds

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown-headed barbet</span> Species of barbet found in the Indian subcontinent

The brown-headed barbet is an Asian barbet species native to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bearded barbet</span> Species of bird

The bearded barbet is an African barbet. Barbets are birds with a worldwide tropical distribution, although New World and Old World barbets are placed in different families. The barbets get their name from the bristles which fringe their heavy bills.

<i>Bucco</i> Genus of birds

Bucco is a genus of birds in the puffbird family Bucconidae. Birds in the genus are native to the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sooty-capped puffbird</span> Species of bird

The sooty-capped puffbird is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is endemic to Colombia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spotted puffbird</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-chested puffbird</span> Species of bird

The white-chested puffbird is a species of 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-necked puffbird</span> Species of bird

The white-necked puffbird is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Mexico, Central America, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

<i>Notharchus</i> Genus of birds

Notharchus is a genus of puffbird in the Bucconidae family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-breasted puffbird</span> Species of bird

The black-breasted puffbird is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buff-bellied puffbird</span> Species of bird

The buff-bellied puffbird is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pied puffbird</span> Species of bird

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.

<i>Nystalus</i> Genus of birds

Nystalus is a genus of puffbirds in the family Bucconidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caatinga puffbird</span> Species of bird

The Caatinga puffbird is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is endemic to Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-tailed nightjar</span> Species of bird

The white-tailed nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in the tropic regions of Central and South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chestnut-belted gnateater</span> Species of bird

The chestnut-belted gnateater is a species of bird in the family Conopophagidae, the gnateaters. It is found in the Amazon Basin of northern Brazil, southern Colombia and eastern Peru and Ecuador; also the Guianan countries of Guyana, Suriname and eastern French Guiana. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whiskered myiobius</span> Species of bird

The whiskered myiobius or bearded flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Tityridae, having previously been included in Tyrannidae. A number of taxonomic authorities continue to place with the flycatchers. The whiskered myiobius is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-headed antbird</span> Species of bird

The black-headed antbird is a species of passerine bird in the antbird family Thamnophilidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coraya wren</span> Species of bird

The coraya wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae, the wrens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galbuli</span> Suborder of birds

Galbuli is one of the two suborders of the order Piciformes. It includes two families, Bucconidae (puffbirds) and Galbulidae (jacamars), both restricted to the Neotropics.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2016). "Guianan Puffbird Notharchus macrorhynchos". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  2. ↑ Gmelin, Johann Friedrich (1788). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae : secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1, Part 1 (13th ed.). Lipsiae [Leipzig]: Georg. Emanuel. Beer. p. 406.
  3. ↑ Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc de (1780). "Tamatias noirs et blancs". Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux (in French). Vol. 7. Paris: De l'Imprimerie Royale. pp. 99–100.
  4. ↑ Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc de; Martinet, François-Nicolas; Daubenton, Edme-Louis; Daubenton, Louis-Jean-Marie (1765–1783). "Barbu à gros bec, de Cayenne". Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle. Vol. 7. Paris: De L'Imprimerie Royale. Plate 689.
  5. ↑ Cabanis, Jean; Heine, Ferdinand (1863). Museum Heineanum : Verzeichniss der ornithologischen Sammlung des Oberamtmann Ferdinand Heine, auf Gut St. Burchard vor Halberstadt (in German and Latin). Vol. 4. Halberstadt: R. Frantz. pp. 146, 149.
  6. 1 2 3 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2022). "Jacamars, puffbirds, barbets, toucans, honeyguides". IOC World Bird List Version 12.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  7. ↑ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp.  274, 236. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  8. ↑ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1948). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 6. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 10.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rasmussen, P.C.; Collar, N.J. (2002). "Family Bucconidae (Puffbirds)" . In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 7: Jacamars to Woodpeckers. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions. pp. 102–139. ISBN   978-84-87334-37-5.
  10. ↑ Zimmer, Kevin (May 2004). "Proposal 124: Split Notharchus swainsoni from N. macrorhynchos". South American Classification Committee, American Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  11. ↑ Zimmer, Kevin (May 2004). "Proposal 125: Split Notharchus hyperrhynchus from N. macrorhynchos". South American Classification Committee, American Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  12. ↑ Zimmer, Kevin (December 2004). "Proposal 157: Change English name of Notharchus macrorhynchos to 'Guianan Puffbird'". South American Classification Committee, American Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  13. ↑ Zimmer, Kevin (December 2004). "Proposal 158: Change English name of Notharchus hyperrhynchu". South American Classification Committee, American Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  14. ↑ Dickinson, E.C.; Remsen, J.V. Jr., eds. (2013). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Vol. 1: Non-passerines (4th ed.). Eastbourne, UK: Aves Press. p. 290. ISBN   978-0-9568611-0-8.
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