Return of Bird of the Week: Collared Puffbird
Collared Puffbird, Manu Road, Peru
The Collared Puffbird is found in Amazonia, the Amazon River basin, including the lower eastern slopes of the Andes Mountains in Ecuador and Peru. WC was lucky enough to see and photograph – admittedly poorly – the species in Peru, where it is comparatively rare. In fact, eBird reports less than 300 sightings for Peru.
The bright orange bill, cinnamon head and distinct black collar makes this a very easy bird to identify in the field. Its call, given generally before dawn, is a classic jungle sound, a loud: “awww awwAWW-chaw awwAWW-chaw awwAWW-chaw”, repeated up to six times.
This species of puffbird prefers the understory, the shrubs and bushes near the ground, but it uses the same still-hunting approach as other puffbirds. It’s a generalist, like most other puffbird species, preying on insects, arthropods and small vertebrates.
It nests in arboreal termite mounds, excavating a tunnel into the mound and sometimes into the supporting wood. In the small number of nests surveyed, there were usually two eggs. Nothing is known about incubation and fledging periods. Not much is known about the species generally.
This species is easily disturbed and displaced by human activity. Given the fires, illegal agriculture and illegal mining in the Amazon, tht’s a serious concern. But at least presently, it isn’t seen as globally threatened.
For more bird photographs, please visit Frozen Feather Images.