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Jacamars and puffbirds | Galbuliformes
Glansvogelachtigen | Jacamares y bobos
An order of tropical American birds often treated as a suborder of the woodpecker order, comprising two families in this guide: the jacamars (Galbulidae) and the puffbirds (Bucconidae). Both have a zygodactyl foot, with two toes forward and two back, and both nest in a cavity they dig themselves, in an earth bank, in the ground or in an arboreal termite nest; the eggs are white. They are patient perch-hunters that sit motionless at a lookout for long periods before sallying out after prey. Jacamars are slender, with a long, thin, pointed bill and glossy metallic green or bronze plumage; they catch flying insects such as butterflies, dragonflies and bees and beat them against a branch before eating them. Puffbirds are stocky and large-headed, with loose, soft plumage in brown, black and white and a heavy bill, often hook-tipped; they take large insects and sometimes small lizards from leaves and branches. In Mexico and Central America both families live mainly in lowland forest and forest edge, with most species in Panama.
Families in this order
- Jacamars | Galbulidae3 speciesThree species in three genera reach Mexico and Central America, where they live in humid lowland forest, along forest edges and riverbanks; the Dusky-backed Jacamar occurs only in eastern Panama. Jacamars are slender birds with a long, straight, needle-sharp bill, short legs with two toes forward and two back, and in most species a long tail. The upperparts gleam metallic green or bronze, while the belly is rufous or dark. They sit upright and still for long periods on an open branch, sallying out after flying insects, especially butterflies, dragonflies, wasps and bees. Back on the perch the prey is beaten against the wood to remove wings and sting. The calls are high, clear whistles and trills; the Great Jacamar gives a long, plaintive whistle. The nest is a tunnel dug by the birds into an earth bank, a riverbank or a termite nest, unlined, holding two to four glossy white eggs. Both parents incubate and feed the young. Together with the puffbirds, the jacamars form an order of their own.
- Puffbirds | Bucconidae9 speciesIn Mexico and Central America the family numbers nine species in seven genera. Most live in humid lowland forest in Costa Rica and Panama; a few, such as the White-necked and White-whiskered Puffbirds, reach southern Mexico. They are stocky birds with a large head, a short neck and loose, fluffy plumage in brown, black and white, which makes them look plumper than they are. The bill is stout, often with a small hook at the tip or a crossed point, and is surrounded by bristles. The foot is zygodactyl, with two toes forward and two back. Puffbirds are patient sit-and-wait hunters: they perch motionless for long periods on an open branch in the middle storey, then sally suddenly at a large insect, a spider or a small lizard and beat the prey against the branch before swallowing it. This stillness means they are often overlooked. The nunbirds of the genus Monasa are the exception, noisy birds that move through the forest in small groups and join in loud, chattering choruses. The nest lies at the end of a tunnel in the ground or in an arboreal termite nest, with two or three white eggs.