Purplish Jacamar Galbula chalcothorax Scientific name definitions

The Purplish Jacamar and the Bronzy Jacamar (Galbula leucogastra) have sometimes been treated as conspecific, and the present species occupies the northwest of this superspecies’ range, in southernmost Colombia, eastern Ecuador and northern Peru, as well as westernmost Brazil, east as far as the Rio Juruá. The metallic reddish purple or coppery red upperparts serve to identify this species immediately from any other jacamar in this region. Locally recorded to around 1000 m, the Purplish Jacamar is usually found at much lower elevations, in clearings and at edges of primary terra firme. Its ecology is rather poorly known to date.

20–23 cm; 24·5–26·5 g. Male  has crown and sides of head blackish-green with bluish sheen; upperparts, including tail, and breast metallic reddish-purple or coppery red; chin black, throat  white, belly blackish with feathers tipped white, especially on lower flanks and towards vent; underside of tail dusky, outer rectrices tipped and fringed whitish on inner web; underwing-coverts black; bill 4–4·8 cm long (3·2–3·7 cm from nostril), slender, all black; iris dark brown; bare eyering and loral region greyish-black; feet black. Differs from G. leucogastra in distinctly larger size, particularly wing length; generally shows more purplish tones. Female as male, but throat and belly yellowish-fulvous or buff. Immature  not formally described.

SE Colombia (Putumayo, Amazonas), E Ecuador, E Peru and W Brazil (R Juruá).

Edges, clearings, treefalls and canopy of primary and secondary terra firme forest, also sand-belt woodland, and often along rivers or streams; mainly below 500 m, but in Ecuador locally up to 1000 m.

Sedentary.

No information on diet, but presumably similar to that of G. ruficauda. 3 specimens taken in E Ecuador were apparently all on bees’ nests, but whether they were foraging on bees is not made clear. Singles, pairs or groups of 3–4 perch from low to high levels (2–10 m), sometimes on exposed canopy branches, more often in shrub layer. Sallies for flying insects . Sometimes associates with mixed-species flocks.

Song is rising series of inflected notes, often in pairs, “weeee weeee wi-deee wi-deee wi-deee wi-deee”, sometimes accelerating into trill; call “weeee”, similar to that of Dusky-capped Flycatcher (Myiarchus tuberculifer).

No information available.

Not globally threatened. Poorly known and generally uncommon. Fairly common in Ecuador along R Napo, and occurs in Cuyabeno Reserve; scarce in E Colombia, where reported from Tinigua National Park, in Meta, and Amacayacu National Park, in SE Amazonas; rare in E Peru. It is probably threatened to some extent by forest degradation and habitat loss. Further ecological studies are needed to determine its habitat requirements, status and distribution.