White-eared puffbird facts for kids
Quick facts for kids White-eared puffbird |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| White-eared puffbird at Extrema, Minas Gerais State, Brazil | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Nystalus
|
| Species: |
chacuru
|
 |
|
The white-eared puffbird (Nystalus chacuru) is a cool bird that belongs to a family called puffbirds. These birds are known for their fluffy look! You can find them in countries like Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Peru. They live in different kinds of forests, like dry forests and moist forests, as well as open areas called savannas.
Contents
What Does the White-eared Puffbird Look Like?
The white-eared puffbird is a cute, round, and plump bird. It has a rather large head and a very narrow tail. Its head has a dark brown top with stripes, and its bill is orange with a black tip. This body shape helps it sit and wait for its food, like insects.
The back and wings of this bird are medium-brown. They have dark reddish-brown spots and stripes. Its chest is white and black with flecks. The upper part of its chest is white, and this white color goes around its neck like a collar. It has a special white patch near its ear, which is how it got its name! This white patch is surrounded by a dark area. The bird's tail is medium-sized, dark brown, and has thin, light brown stripes with a pale tip. It is about 21 to 22 centimeters (8 to 9 inches) long and weighs between 48 to 64 grams (1.7 to 2.3 ounces).
Where Do White-eared Puffbirds Live?
The white-eared puffbird lives in many parts of South America. You can find it from eastern Peru and central Brazil all the way south to Paraguay, Bolivia, and northeastern Argentina.
In southeastern Brazil, it mostly lives in the Cerrado region. It also lives along the southeast Atlantic coast, from the state of Bahia down to the borders of Paraná and Santa Catarina. It covers much of the eastern and northern Pantanal wetlands. You can also find it in southern areas of the Caatinga drylands.
The northern and western parts of its home range include the beginnings of some Amazon Basin rivers. This covers almost all of northern Bolivia. It also includes the many small rivers that flow into the Madeira River. East of the Tapajós River, the bird's range spreads into the Cerrado. It covers the upper half of the Xingu River area and the entire river system of the Araguaia-Tocantins River.
In Peru, this bird is not very common. It is found near the western border with Bolivia. It also lives in some places in north-central Peru. Here, it likes dry forests and scrubland in valleys like Mantaro, Apurimac, and Urubamba. It lives at heights between 1,000 and 2,200 meters (3,300 to 7,200 feet). It has also been seen in the Mayo Valley.
Another place where it lives is along the middle part of the downstream Madeira River. This is in the southern Amazonas state of Brazil.
What Do White-eared Puffbirds Eat?
The white-eared puffbird eats many different things. It mainly feeds on arthropods, which are creatures like insects and spiders. It also eats small vertebrates, which are animals with backbones. These can include lizards, amphibians (like frogs, even poisonous ones!), and sometimes even tiny marsupials. They often catch their food from the ground. It seems they will eat whatever food they can find.
Their insect diet includes social wasps (Vespidae), beetles, and lepidopterans (like butterflies and moths). They often catch these large insects while flying, especially near streams. They also eat animals that don't fly, such as insect larvae, millipedes, centipedes, scorpions, and even velvet worms and crabs.
Types of White-eared Puffbirds
There are two main types, or subspecies, of the white-eared puffbird:
- Nystalus chacuru uncirostris - You can find this type in eastern Peru, northeastern Bolivia, and nearby parts of Brazil.
- Nystalus chacuru chacuru - This type lives in northeastern, eastern, and southern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, and northeastern Argentina (in a place called Misiones).
