Bird Guide

Chestnut-capped Puffbird vs Lanceolated Monklet

Chestnut-capped Puffbird (Bucco macrodactylus)

Chestnut-capped Puffbird

Bucco macrodactylus

Small25 gForest

The chestnut-capped puffbird is 14 to 16.5 cm (5.5 to 6.5 in) long and weighs about 25 g (0.88 oz). Its plumage is unique among puffbirds. Its crown is chestnut, its nape a bright reddish orange, and the rest of the upperparts brown with a few lighter bars on the back and many on the rump. The tail is long, narrow, and warm dark brown. It has a thin white supercilium, black cheeks and lower throat with a white line between them, and a reddish white chin and upper throat. The chin feathers curl up over the base of the bill. Voice: The chestnut-capped puffbird's song is "a series of plaintive but abrupt rising notes ending in twitter, 'pup pup pep pep peep peep pip pip pip piz'".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/7886353@N02 · CC BY 2.0
Lanceolated Monklet (Micromonacha lanceolata)

Lanceolated Monklet

Micromonacha lanceolata

Small20 gForest

The lanceolated monklet is 13 to 15 cm (5.1 to 5.9 in) long and weighs 19 to 22 g (0.67 to 0.78 oz). It is entirely warm brown with scale-like buffy markings above. It has white bristles around the base of the large bill, and white "whiskers", which are actually tufts of feathers. Its lores and a half ring behind the eye are white. The wings and the top side of the tail are dark brown and the tail's underside is gray. Most of its underparts are white with heavy black streaks; the center of the belly is unstreaked and the vent area has an ochre tinge. Voice: The lanceolated monklet's song is "1–5 high, thin, plaintive rising whistles, 'sewee ... sewee sewee-sewee-sewee’swee’swee', each slightly higher than preceding one". Its contact call is a "thin, high-pitched 'tsip tsip'".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Lanceolated Monklet
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · Pichincha: Río Guaycuyacu, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: joel rosenthal from miami, florida, usa · CC BY 2.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Chestnut-capped Puffbird and Lanceolated Monklet.