Two-banded Puffbird

About the Two-banded Puffbird

The two-banded puffbird (Hypnelus bicinctus) is a species of near-passerine bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela. The taxonomy of the two-banded puffbird is unsettled. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) consider it a species. They assign two subspecies, the nominate H. b. bicinctus and H. b. stoicus. However, the Clements taxonomy treats the two as subspecies of the russet-throated puffbird (H. ruficollis). The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (SACC) recognizes that treating H. bicinctus as a species might be valid but has not received a formal proposal for the split.

The adult of the nominate subspecies of two-banded puffbird has a dark brown crown with pale brown spots, a buffy patch from the bill to the eye, a whitish patch on the cheek, and a black patch below and behind the white one. The nape has a narrow whitish collar. The upperparts are dull brown with whitish mottling while the closed wing is dull brown with whitish scallops. The... Wikipedia →