White-eared Puffbird

About the White-eared Puffbird

The white-eared puffbird (Nystalus chacuru) is a species of bird in the Bucconidae family, the puffbirds. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Peru, where it inhabits tropical and subtropical dry forests, subtropical and tropical moist forests, gallery forests, tropical savanna, and heavily degraded former forest.

Like some other puffbirds, the white-eared puffbird is a round, plump bird with a very narrow tail. The head is relatively large, with a dark brown barred crown, and an orange, black-tipped bill. The sit-and-wait feeding strategy, for insects or opportunistic prey, may explain this body shape.

The bird has a medium-brown back and wings, with dark rufous speckles and bars; white and black flecked on the breast. The upper breast is white, extending to a narrow-to-medium white collar around the neck. There is a distinctive, medium-sized white ear patch, which gives the species its common name, and that is surrounded by a dark ear patch. It has a medium-sized tail in dark brown and slightly graduated, with narrow, widely spaced buffy bars, and a pale tip. It measures about 21–22 cm (8.3–8.7 in) in length and weighs between 48–64 g. Wikipedia →