Great Jacamar Jacamerops aureus Scientific name definitions

The Great Jacamar is a large, striking bird of the canopy of humid lowland forests. By far the largest of the jacamars, it has glossy green upperparts, extensively rufous underparts, a rounded tail, and a long, thick black bill. Its song is a strong, whistled "kleee'uuuuuuuuu", typically with a break in the middle, and is often the first clue to its presence. The Great Jacamar can be difficult to spot as it often sits in one spot in the canopy for long periods. Here, it preys on insects by sallying after them and then beating them against a branch before consumption. Nests have been found in arboreal termitaria and in a rotting tree trunk.

25–30 cm; 57–76 g. By far the most bulky jacamar. Male has chin, sides of face and entire upperparts iridescent green, glossed with bluish on chin, forehead, crown and tail, with golden, purplish or coppery on mantle; primaries blackish; tail rather long, broad and rounded, central pair of rectrices brighter coppery bluish-green; lower throat gleaming white, rest of underparts  chestnut-rufous, underside of tail dusky or blue-black; bill 4·6–5·5 cm, relatively short, stout and decurved, all black; iris dark brown or chestnut-brown; bare eyering and lores grey; feet dark horn or green-grey, claws black. Female  similar, but lacks white patch on throat  . Immature similar to adult female, but duller and less iridescent above with little or no coppery sheen, paler and duller below, rectrices narrowly tipped dull bronze. Race <em>penardi</em> has greener upperparts; <em>isidori</em> has paler underparts; ridgwayi  has upperparts more purplish, chin, forehead and crown more greenish than blue, underparts darker and more amber-brown than previous race.

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Midstorey and canopy of unbroken humid forest and well-shaded forest borders, often along streams and rivers (including várzea and igapó forest), less commonly at forest edges and in tall open second growth; also locally in gallery forest within Brazilian cerrado. Usually below 700 m, locally to 1200 m (3 Schulenberg, T. S., D. F. Stotz, D. F. Lane, J. P. O’Neill, and T. A. Parker (2007). Birds of Peru. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ); in S Venezuela, generally below 500 m, but recently recorded to 840 m in S Gran Sabana (4 Crease, A. (2009). Avian range extensions from the southern headwaters of the río Caroní, Gran Sabana, Bolívar, Venezuela. Cotinga 31:5–19. Close ).

Sedentary.

Various Hymenoptera of families Scoliidae, Vespidae (Pachodynerus), Apidae, Ichneumonidae and Formicidae, also Hemiptera, Homoptera, Lepidoptera, Odonata, also Coleoptera of families Buprestidae (Chrysobothris), Cetonidae, Chrysomelidae, Scarabeidae, Cerambycidae (Trachyderes succinctus). At least in Costa Rica, spiders and small lizards also taken. More sluggish than other jacamars, therefore easily overlooked; often very confiding. Perches in well-spaced pairs or solitarily on slender branches or horizontal vines from mid-levels to lower canopy, usually at 4–10 m, lower at edges or gaps. Sallies to catch flying insects; tends not to return to same perch. Also gleans insects, spiders and small lizards from foliage in flight. Beats most prey against perch before swallowing  . Rarely, if ever, joins mixed flocks, but may be stimulated into activity by their passage (5 Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Often silent; song , usually given at long intervals, a prolonged penetrating, high-pitched, hawk-like “kle-eeeeeuuuu”, the preliminary clipped note abruptly shifting to long falling whistle, the whole having a somewhat melancholy quality (5 Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); pairs counter-call with various soft buzzing, grating or cat-like mewing notes, sometimes doubled, e.g. a rising “naaaaaa”, a nasal “waaaaeEEeer” and quavering “whe-e-e-u-u-r”, the latter often followed by bill-snapping and thought to signal aggression (5 Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Breeds in Mar–Jun in Costa Rica, in Apr–May in W Colombia (Chocó), in Jan in Brazil (R Negro), fledging in mid-Oct in Peru (6 Brightsmith, D.J. (2004). Nest sites of termitarium nesting birds in SE Peru. Orn. Neotropical. 15(3): 319–330. Close ); timing probably related to variations in wet season. Nest in arboreal termitaria of Constrictotermes cavifrons (sometimes still occupied by the termites) (6 Brightsmith, D.J. (2004). Nest sites of termitarium nesting birds in SE Peru. Orn. Neotropical. 15(3): 319–330. Close ) 3·8–15 m above ground in large living Dipteryx micrantha trees; also reported in rotting tree trunk. One of the two nests in termitaria had an entrance 10 cm high and 6 cm wide, with the slope down into the 8 cm × 25 cm chamber at 30°, while in the other nest, the tunnel sloped upwards at an angle of 40° into the chamber (6 Brightsmith, D.J. (2004). Nest sites of termitarium nesting birds in SE Peru. Orn. Neotropical. 15(3): 319–330. Close ). No information on clutch size, nor on incubation and fledging periods.

Not globally threatened. Generally considered rare or uncommon, although it may often be overlooked owing to its unobtrusive canopy-dwelling nature; recorded much more frequently when voice is known. Rare to very uncommon, and apparently decreasing, in Costa Rica, and only recently discovered in Nicaragua (since 2001), where known from two localities (7 Múnera-Roldán, C., M. L. Cody, R. H. Schiele-Zavala, B. J. Sigel, S. Woltmann, and J. P. Kjeldsen (2007). New and noteworthy records of birds from south-eastern Nicaragua. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 127(2):152–161. Close ), and Honduras (since 2004), where also known from two localities, Tawahka-Asangni Reserve and Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve (8 Vallely, A.C., Gallardo, R.J. and Ascher, J.S. (2010). Notes on the birds of the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, including four new species for Honduras. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club. 130(1): 52–60. Close ). Uncommon and apparently local in Panama, Colombia and Ecuador; in Panama, widespread but uncommon around Canal area, Darién and Cerro Pirre. Widespread in Guyana; not very numerous in Surinam. Apparently rare in E Peru; common in Rondônia, Brazil. Presumably adversely affected by deforestation; indeed, reported to decline substantially after selective logging in French Guiana. No immediate threats are known. Occurs in several protected areas throughout range, e.g. Imataca Forest Reserve and El Dorado, in Venezuela, Tambopata Reserve, in Peru, the Serra dos Carajás mosiac of conservation units (9 Pacheco, J. F., G. M. Kirwan, A. Aleixo, B. M. Whitney, A. Whittaker, J. Minns, K. J. Zimmer, P. S. M. Fonseca, M. F. Lima, and D. C. Oren (2007). An avifaunal inventory of the CVRD Serra dos Carajás project, Pará, Brazil. Cotinga 27:15–30. Close ) and Amazônia (Tapajós) National Park, in Brazil, and Madidi National Park, in Bolivia. Further studies needed to estimate population numbers.