Malacoptila mystacalis (Lafresnaye, 1850)

Size and Weight

The moustached puffbird (Malacoptila mystacalis) is 20 to 23 cm (7.9 to 9.1 in) long and weighs 47 to 50 g (1.7 to 1.8 oz).

Sexual Dimorphism

Unlike most puffbird species, the male and female moustached puffbird have different plumages.

Shared Facial Features

Both sexes have bristles around the base of their large bill, plus white "whiskers" that are actually feather tufts.

Male Upperpart Plumage

The adult male is drab brown on its upperparts, with white to buffy spots on the back and wing coverts. Its tail is brown with small buffy markings.

Male Head Markings

Its lores and a half ring behind the eye are white.

Male Underpart Plumage

The chin, throat, and breast are rufous, with indistinct darker streaks on the breast. The belly is white, and the flanks are dull brown with whitish bars and streaks.

Male Soft Parts

The male's bill is black, its eye is red, and its feet are silvery bluish.

Female Plumage

The adult female is grayer on the upperparts with heavier buff markings, and has a paler breast with heavier streaks.

Immature Plumage

Immature birds are darker with less obvious light markings, and have less rufous coloration on the breast.

Geographic Distribution

The moustached puffbird is distributed in the Andes, from northern and northwestern Venezuela through Colombia, and extends slightly into northern Ecuador.

Habitat

It primarily lives in the undergrowth of humid and wet forests, but it also occurs along forest edges and in open woodland.

Vertical Perching Range

It usually stays within 6 m (20 ft) of the ground.

Elevation Range

Its elevation range is from 350 to 2,100 m (1,100 to 6,900 ft).