Semicollared puffbird

Semicollared puffbird
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Piciformes
Family:	Bucconidae
Genus:	Malacoptila
Species:	M. semicincta
Binomial name
Malacoptila semicincta Todd, 1925

The semicollared puffbird (Malacoptila semicincta) 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. ^{[2] [3]}

Taxonomy and systematics

The semicollared puffbird and the white-chested puffbird (M. fusca) were for a time considered conspecific but are now treated as a superspecies. ^[4] It is monotypic. ^[2]

Description

The semicollared puffbird is about 18 cm (7.1 in) long and weighs about 44 g (1.6 oz). The head and upperparts are blackish brown; pale shafts to the feathers give a streaked appearance. Its tail is brown. It has a whitish "whisker" and chin and a thin white crescent across the upper breast. The back of the neck has a rufous "collar". The underparts are whitish with blackish streaks on the lower breast and flanks. The bill is mostly black above and yellow-orange below, the eye dark red with a white ring around it, and the feet pale greenish pink. ^[5]

Distribution and habitat

The semicollared puffbird is found in western Amazonia where far western Brazil, southeastern Peru, and far northern Bolivia meet. It inhabits transitional forest and the edges of humid tropical evergreen terra firme forest, usually from the undergrowth up to the lower mid-story. In elevation it ranges from near sea level to 1,050 m (3,400 ft). ^[5]

Behavior

Feeding

The semicollared puffbird's feeding behavior and diet have not been documented. ^[5]

Breeding

The semicollared puffbird's breeding phenology has not been documented. ^[5]

Songs and calls Listen to semicollared puffbird on xeno-canto

Vocalization

The semicollared puffbird's song is a "series of thin, rather high-pitched, melancholy, descending 'Fééeur' or 'pseuu' whistles, each at first widely spaced...and starting on the same pitch; then dropping in pitch, 'pseuu-uuu-uuu'." ^[5]

Status

The IUCN has assessed the semicollared puffbird as being of Least Concern, though its population is unknown and is believed to be decreasing. ^[1] It occurs in one protected are in Peru. ^[5]

References

1. BirdLife International (2016). "Semicollared Puffbird Malacoptila semicincta". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
2. 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. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved August 24, 2021
4. 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
5. Rasmussen, P. C. and N. Collar (2020). Semicollared Puffbird (Malacoptila semicincta), 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.sempuf1.01 retrieved November 7, 2021