Crescent-chested Puffbird vs Moustached Puffbird

Crescent-chested Puffbird

Malacoptila striata

Small44 gForest

The crescent-chested puffbird is 17.5 to 20 cm (6.9 to 7.9 in) long. The nominate M. s. striata weighs from about 40 to 47 g (1.4 to 1.7 oz); M. s. minor is smaller. The nominate's head and upperparts are blackish with buffy streaks. The face is rufous around the bill and has a buffy or white "moustache". The wing is brown with buffy markings; the tail is plain dark brown. The upper breast has a white crescent with a black band below it. The lower breast is rufous, the center of the belly whitish, and the sides of the breast and belly dull brown with buffy scallops. M. s. Voice: The crescent-chested puffbird's song is "a high-pitched whistle of 10+ notes, like a small tyrannid, bieh, bieh, bieh…." Its alarm call is "a high, thin, descending seeee...".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: rodrigo_lazaro · CC BY 4.0

Moustached Puffbird

Malacoptila mystacalis

Small49 gForest

The moustached puffbird is 20 to 23 cm (7.9 to 9.1 in) long and weighs 47 to 50 g (1.7 to 1.8 oz). Unlike most puffbirds, the male and female have different plumages. Both sexes have bristles around the base of the large bill, and white "whiskers", which are actually tufts of feathers. The adult male is drab brown above with white to buffy spots on the back and the wing coverts. Its tail is brown with small buffy markings. Its lores and a half ring behind the eye are white. The chin, throat, and breast are rufous with indistinct darker streaks on the last. Voice: The moustached puffbird's song is a "igh thin peeping" like that of other puffbirds in its genus.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Alejandro Bayer Tamayo · CC0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Crescent-chested Puffbird and Moustached Puffbird.