Alternative names: Swallow-wing; Swallow-wing Puffbird
- Chelidoptera tenebrosa
Identification
14–15 cm (5½-6 in)
- Glossy blue-back overall plumage
- White rump and lower back
- Cinnamon belly
- White undertail coverts
- Short tail and broad wings
Distribution
South America: found in Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 3 subspecies[1]:
- C. t. tenebrosa:
- C. t. brasiliensis:
- Coastal south-eastern Brazil
- C. t. pallida:
- North-west Venezuela
Habitat
For breeding they seem to prefer open areas with sandy soil and scattered bushes.
Behaviour
Breeding
They dig an oblique tunnel in sandy soil or earth to serve as its nest. Clutch is one or two eggs.
Diet
Their main diet consists of slow moving flying insects including Hymenoptera (Apidae, Meliponinae, Formicidae), and Coleoptera
Vocalisation
Twittering song often given in flight; common call is high clear tsi-tsi-tsi
Movements
Resident
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Rasmussen, P.C. & Collar, N. (2019). Swallow-winged Puffbird (Chelidoptera tenebrosa). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/55987 on 7 July 2019).
- Swallow-winged Puffbird (Chelidoptera tenebrosa), In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. retrieved from Neotropical Birds Online: https://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/Species-Account/nb/species/swwpuf1
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Swallow-winged Puffbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 12 June 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Swallow-winged_Puffbird