About Notharchus pectoralis (G.R.Gray, 1846)
Size and Weight
The black-breasted puffbird is 19 to 23 cm (7.5 to 9.1 in) long and weighs between 60 and 69 g (2.1 and 2.4 oz).
Plumage Pattern
Its plumage is mostly glossy blue-black, with white coloring on the collar, cheeks, throat, and belly, plus a blue-black breast band and a black tail with white feather tips. Narrow white scallops are visible on the closed wing and rump.
Flank and Soft Part Features
The flanks are dark gray with buffy markings. The bird's heavy bill, like its feet, is black, and its iris is either dark brown or red.
Sexual Dimorphism and Juvenile Plumage
The two sexes have identical appearance, and the plumage of juvenile black-breasted puffbirds has not been formally described.
Geographic Range
The black-breasted puffbird ranges from Panama's Canal Zone east into central Colombia, and extends south through western Colombia into northwestern Ecuador.
Habitat and Elevation Range
It lives in humid lowland rainforest and secondary forest, between sea level and 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in elevation.
Habitat Specificity
It is rarely found near forest edges, and is more restricted to closed forest than its close relatives, though it is often found near running water.
Foraging Behavior
It typically occupies the forest canopy, but will descend to the forest floor to chase prey that has been flushed by army ant swarms.
