Swallow-winged Puffbird - BirdForum Opus

Nominate subspecies
Photo © by Francisco Paludo
Presidente Figueiredo, AM, Brazil, 12 July 2017

Alternative names: Swallow-wing; Swallow-wing Puffbird; Swallow-winged Puffbird

Chelidoptera tenebrosa

Identification

14–15 cm (5½-6 in)

Glossy blue-back overall plumage
White rump and lower back
Cinnamon belly
White undertail coverts
Short tail and broad wings

Variations

Subspecies C. t. pallida and C. t. brasiliensis are paler and have more white on the belly.

Distribution

South America: found in Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 3 subspecies^[1]:

C. t. tenebrosa:

East Colombia to the Guianas, northern Bolivia and Brazil (except sjouth-eastern)

C. t. brasiliensis:

Coastal south-eastern Brazil

C. t. pallida:

North-west Venezuela

Habitat

For breeding they seem to prefer open areas with sandy soil and scattered bushes.

Behaviour

Usually seen perched in the open high on dead branches along riverbanks, often in pairs or small groups

Breeding

They dig an oblique tunnel in sandy soil or earth to serve as its nest. Clutch is one or two eggs.

Diet

Their main diet consists of slow moving flying insects including Hymenoptera and Coleoptera

Vocalisation

Twittering song often given in flight; common call is high clear tsi-tsi-tsi

Movements

Resident

References

Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Avibase
Rasmussen, P.C. & Collar, N. (2019). Swallow-winged Puffbird (Chelidoptera tenebrosa). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/55987 on 7 July 2019).
Swallow-winged Puffbird (Chelidoptera tenebrosa), In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. retrieved from Neotropical Birds Online: https://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/Species-Account/nb/species/swwpuf1

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Swallow-winged Puffbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Swallow-winged_Puffbird

External Links

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