Bird Guide

Spot-backed Puffbird vs White-eared Puffbird

Spot-backed Puffbird (Nystalus maculatus)

Spot-backed Puffbird

Nystalus maculatus

Small42 gForest

The spot-backed puffbird is 18 to 19 cm (7.1 to 7.5 in) long and weighs 32 to 38 g (1.1 to 1.3 oz). It has a dark brown crown with bold buffy spangles and a pale rufous collar on the hindneck. Its upperparts and wing coverts are dark brown with buffy spangles and bars. The long, narrow, tail has broad black and narrow buffy bars. The face is mostly off-white with dusky streaks that are darker to the rear; it has a buffy supercilium. The chin is white and the throat, upper breast, and sides of the neck are orange-red.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Spot-backed Puffbird
Recorded by Flávio C.T. Lima · Duet · Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil · CC0
Photo: deboas · CC BY 4.0
White-eared Puffbird (Nystalus chacuru)

White-eared Puffbird

Nystalus chacuru

Small52 gWoodland

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.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · 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: Spot-backed Puffbird and White-eared Puffbird.