Puffbirds

Puffbirds are part of the Bucconidae family, tropical tree-dwelling birds that are mostly found from Mexico to Brazil, with a remarkable variety in the Amazon Basin. These insect-eating birds are generally brown, rufous, or grey with large heads and eyes, and distinctive flattened bills with hooked tips. They appear stout due to their fluffy plumage and short tails. Sizes vary from the rufous-capped nunlet at 13 cm to the white-necked puffbird at 29 cm. These birds are known for sitting still for long periods, utilizing a sit-and-wait hunting strategy for catching insects, and occasionally small lizards or plant material, which they may regurgitate as pellets. Puffbirds are mostly silent, though some species emit high-pitched whistles at dawn and dusk. They are solitary or live in small family groups, although the genus Monasa, the nunbirds, is more sociable and can be found in flocks. Breeding is not well-documented, but they nest in burrows and lay small, round, white eggs. Both parents incubate these for around 15 days, and chicks, born blind and naked, are fed partially chewed insects and fledge in about three weeks. The family's taxonomy is sometimes debated, with some considering them part of a separate order, Galbuliformes, and molecular studies have explored their evolutionary history, dating their divergence and relationships within the species. Fossils originally thought to be puffbirds have been reclassified as types of rollers. Puffbirds are a diverse group of birds with various genera including Notharchus, Bucco, Nystalus, Hypnelus, Malacoptila among others, characterized by different species each with its unique features.