Chestnut-capped Puffbird Bucco macrodactylus Scientific name definitions

The Chestnut-capped Puffbird is a relatively small member of the genus Bucco, from which the family Bucconidae is named. Its small size, bright chestnut cap and black mask and breast band distinguish it from all other puffbirds. It is found throughout western Amazonia from Colombia and southeastern Venezuela south to northern Bolivia, usually found in “edge” situations, typically along streams, or by clearings in seasonally flooded forest. Like other species of puffbird, typically found in pairs, and often seen perched in the mid-story for long periods of time. It forages by sallying out and grabbing insects from vegetation. Call is a single mournful whistle, repeated frequently, not dissimilar to the call of a Dusky-capped Flycatcher (Myiarchus tuberculifer).

14–16·5 cm (1 Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); 25 g. Crown chestnut ; long narrow whitish supercilium, broader white stripe just below cheek bisecting black patch on side of face and broad collar across lower throat; chin and upper throat rufescent-white, varying in extent, elongated shafts of chin feathers recurving over bill; narrow bright orange-rufous nuchal collar  ; rest of upperparts  dark brown, a few lighter bars on back, many on rump; light buffy-rufous scalloping on lower mantle, scapulars and wing-coverts; remiges dark brown; tail rather long, narrow, graduated about a third of its length, dark warm brown; whitish upper breast, remaining underparts mainly buffy with fine vague dusky barring except on lower belly  ; bill  all black; iris red to brown, bare eye-ring dark grey; feet brownish-grey or greenish-grey. Immature similar, differs in having shorter bill. From behind, might be confused with Nystactes tamatia, which lacks well-defined, complete collar, and has quite different and more heavily marked underparts pattern, while B. capensis is more of a canopy species, lacks any pattern on face and has oversized orange bill (1 Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

S Venezuela, E Colombia and E Ecuador S to E Peru, upper Amazonian Brazil and N Bolivia.

Usually found in the subcanopy, understorey and undergrowth near water at borders of humid terra firme and várzea forest, especially along várzea river edge and in riverine bamboo, also igapó and creek margins, second-growth woodland, early successional growth, riverbank forest, lake margins, transitional forest, willow (Salix) bars, wet shrubbery in clearings, gallery forest, palm groves; also scrubby forest away from water. Frequently perches 1–6 m above ground (1 Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Occurs from sea-level up to at least 660 m (2 Crease, A. (2009). Avian range extensions from the southern headwaters of the río Caroní, Gran Sabana, Bolívar, Venezuela. Cotinga 31:5–19. Close ), occasionally reaching 1000 m in E Peru (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 ) and once at 1200 m in E Ecuador (4 Guevara, E. A., A. Solano, and G. Buitrón (2008). Noteworthy records from the eastern Andean slopes of northern Ecuador. Ornitología Colombiana 7:78–82. Close ).

Presumably resident.

Large roach (Blattodea) found in one stomach, but reported to also take small vertebrates and other large arthropods (1 Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Observed once to appear at dusk to catch moths on the wing. Almost always solitary , pair members apparently not foraging together. No other information.

Song (mainly given at or prior to dawn) (1 Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) a series of plaintive but abrupt rising notes ending in twitter, “pup pup pep pep peep peep pip pip pip piz” or a plaintive series of Elaenia-like “wee-a” notes that rise slightly (1 Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), somewhat like common vocalization of Dusky-capped Flycatcher (Myiarchus tuberculifer), but notes usually shorter and given at more rapid tempo (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 ).

Nest in hole in arboreal termitarium c. 2·5 m above ground in SE Peru (1 Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). No other details known.

Not globally threatened. Locally common in Venezuela, e.g. six heard calling simultaneously. Uncommon in Colombia and Ecuador. Uncommon generally in Peru; density of 1 pair/km² in floodplain-forest at Cocha Cashu, increasing to 19 pairs/km² in earliest successional stages; observed in Peru along Cuzco–Manu Road and at Amazonia Lodge. In Brazil, uncommon in Amazonas, e.g. around Manaus, and in Acre and Rondônia, as well as W to R Tapajós, in Pará, where recently found in Amazônia (Tapajós) National Park, the species’ easternmost limit S of Amazon (5 Pacheco, J.F. and Parrini, R. (2006). Novos registros de aves para o Parque Nacional do Tapajós, região central da Amazônia brasileira. Atualidades Ornitológicas. 129: 4-6. Close ).