Pied Puffbird
Notharchus tectus
Silhouette: Matt Wilkins (Photo by Len Blumin) · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPiciformes (Woodpeckers and Allies)
- FamilyBucconidae (Puffbirds)
- GenusNotharchus (Black-and-white Puffbirds)
- SpeciesNotharchus tectus (Pied Puffbird)
About the Pied Puffbird
The pied puffbird (Notharchus tectus) is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The pied puffbird was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen collected in Cayenne, French Guiana. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-colored plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle that was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Bucco tectus in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. The pied puffbird is now placed in the genus Notharchus that was introduced by the German ornithologists Jean Cabanis and Ferdinand Heine in 1863. The generic name combines the Ancient Greek nōthēs meaning "sluggish" and arkhos meaning "leader" or "chief". The specific epithet... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Darién National Park
White-necked Puffbird
Notharchus hyperrhynchus
Black-breasted Puffbird
Notharchus pectoralis
Gray-cheeked Nunlet
Nonnula frontalis
Barred Puffbird
Nystalus radiatus
White-whiskered Puffbird
Malacoptila panamensis
White-fronted Nunbird
Monasa morphoeus
Russet-throated Puffbird
Hypnelus ruficollis
Sooty-capped Puffbird
Bucco noanamae
Keel-billed Toucan
Ramphastos sulfuratus
Collared Aracari
Pteroglossus torquatus
Red-crowned Woodpecker
Melanerpes rubricapillus
Black-mandibled Toucan
Ramphastos ambiguus
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Pied Puffbird in Darién National Park?
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Pied Puffbird sighting in Darién National Park, based on 945 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Pied Puffbird in Darién National Park?
April has the highest sighting rate for Pied Puffbird in Darién National Park in our monthly data.