White-eared Puffbird Nystalus chacuru Scientific name definitions

The White-eared Puffbird is a resident of tropical deciduous forest and gallery forest from eastern Peru and central Brazil south to Paraguay and northeastern Argentina.  The White-eared Puffbird has a dark brown crown, white collar, rufous-brown upperparts, white underparts and a conspicuous dark brown patch on the bird's lower ear coverts.  The White-eared Puffbird still-hunts from mid-level perches in trees and shrubs, and will take a wide range of prey, from insects to reptiles to crabs. These birds have one of the most southerly distributions of any species of puffbird; there is some evidence that the southernmost populations of White-eared Puffbird are migratory.  White-eared Puffbirds have also been observed to lower their body temperatures and enter into torpor during cool weather.

21–22 cm; 48–64 g. White above bill, becoming narrow white crown­stripe; short pale supercilium; white upper ear-coverts, malar region and throat; large black patch mainly on lower ear-coverts connecting to black postocular line; dark brown crown variably spotted and barred dull rufous, broad white nuchal collar; mantle , dark brown rump and wings heavily dappled dark rufous, barred effect on tertials; tail medium length, slightly graduated, dark brown with narrow, widely spaced buffy bars, pale tip; whitish below, variably washed ochraceous, some narrow dark scalloping on breast, heavier on flanks; bill reddish; iris brown or greyish green; legs and feet dusky pinkish or light olive-green. Juvenile  has duskier bill, dark barring on nuchal collar, and blackish striations on underparts. Race uncirostris  has larger bill , whiter underparts, slightly longer wing.

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

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.

Mid-stratum and edge of tropical dry forest, second growth, gallery forest, open woodland, wooded grassland, campos, cerrado, tropical savanna, scrub, clearings , pastures, open country with scattered vegetation; also cultivated fields (e.g. coffee groves) bordering railroads, tree-lined streets in rural suburbs. Perches on telephone and fence wires and posts. Sometimes hunts along well-vegetated streams, and ranges from ground level to canopy. Recorded up to 2200 m in Peru (1 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 ).

Mainly resident; apparently migratory in extreme S.

Diet appears opportunistic (2 Crozariol, M.A. and Gomes, F.B.R. (2010). Insetívoro our oportunista? A dieta do joão-bobo, Nystalus chacuru (Galbuliformes: Bucconidae). Atualidades Orn.. 154: 14-15. Close ). Arthropods, and small vertebrates such as lizards  (e.g. Polychrus acutirostris  , Cnemydophorus sp.) (2 Crozariol, M.A. and Gomes, F.B.R. (2010). Insetívoro our oportunista? A dieta do joão-bobo, Nystalus chacuru (Galbuliformes: Bucconidae). Atualidades Orn.. 154: 14-15. Close ), amphibians  (including poisonous species, such as Rhinella cf. pombalia (3 Gomes, F.B.R. (2009). Perigoso, mas gostoso: registro da predação de duas espécies de “sapos-verdadeiros” por aves. Atualidades Orn.. 151: 8-9. Close ), as well as Leptodactylus cf. ocellatus, Scinax sp., Proceratophrys sp.) (2 Crozariol, M.A. and Gomes, F.B.R. (2010). Insetívoro our oportunista? A dieta do joão-bobo, Nystalus chacuru (Galbuliformes: Bucconidae). Atualidades Orn.. 154: 14-15. Close ) and even small marsupials  (Monodelphis americana) (2 Crozariol, M.A. and Gomes, F.B.R. (2010). Insetívoro our oportunista? A dieta do joão-bobo, Nystalus chacuru (Galbuliformes: Bucconidae). Atualidades Orn.. 154: 14-15. Close ), commonly taken from the ground. Prey up to 19 cm in length has been reported in stomach contents (4 Schubart, O., A. C. Aguirre, and H. Sick (1965). Contribuição para o conhecimento da alimentação das aves brasileiras. Arquivos de Zoologia do Estado de São Paulo 12:95–249. Close ). Invertebrate prey  includes social wasps (Vespidae, e.g. Polybia ruficeps, Chartergus globiventris) (5 Raw, A. (1997). Avian predation on individual Neotropical social wasps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) outside their nests. Orn. Neotropical. 8(1): 89–92. Close ), Coleoptera (2 Crozariol, M.A. and Gomes, F.B.R. (2010). Insetívoro our oportunista? A dieta do joão-bobo, Nystalus chacuru (Galbuliformes: Bucconidae). Atualidades Orn.. 154: 14-15. Close ), Homoptera (2 Crozariol, M.A. and Gomes, F.B.R. (2010). Insetívoro our oportunista? A dieta do joão-bobo, Nystalus chacuru (Galbuliformes: Bucconidae). Atualidades Orn.. 154: 14-15. Close ), Lepidoptera (2 Crozariol, M.A. and Gomes, F.B.R. (2010). Insetívoro our oportunista? A dieta do joão-bobo, Nystalus chacuru (Galbuliformes: Bucconidae). Atualidades Orn.. 154: 14-15. Close ) and other large insects  caught in mid-air, often along streams, but also non-volant animals such as insect larvae  , millipedes (Diplopoda), centipedes (Chilopoda), scorpions (Scorpiones), and even velvet worms (Peripatus) and crabs. Vegetable matter also reported. Still-hunts from mid-levels.

Loud, whistled whinnying song of c. 8 double low/high whistles, tremulous and descending, “fufu-fofo-fufu-fofo-fufufuu…”, often by pair in duet in antiphonal duet, e.g. “co-lo’de-le co-lo’de-le co-lo’de-le co-lo’de-le...” (1 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 ). May be given at any time of day, especially morning or evening.

Sept–Jan  /Feb  in SE Brazil; at start of rains in C Brazil. Nest-hole dug in ground or bank, occasionally in road cutting or railroad embankment. Clutch 2–4 eggs. No information on incubation and fledging periods.

Not globally threatened. Uncommon and local in Peru, where known from several widely scattered localities—the Mayo Valley (perhaps no recent records), the Apurímac and Urubamba Valleys (rare) and the Pampas del Heath (1 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 ); uncommon in Argentina; fairly common in Bolivia. Common in parts of SE & C Brazil (e.g. Bahia, Distrito Federal), moderately so in Rio Grande do Sul, fairly common in Mato Grosso ; present in several protected areas in Brazil, including Itatiaia National Park, Serra da Canastra National Park, Brasília National Park, Emas National Park and Chapada dos Guimarães National Park.