The chestnut-headed nunlet is a species of near-passerine bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is endemic to Brazil.
Region
Brazilian Amazon
Typical Environment
This species is confined to lowland terra firme forest between the Madeira and Tapajós rivers in the south-central Amazon of Brazil. It keeps to the shaded understory, often near vine tangles and bamboo thickets, and occasionally along quiet forest edges. Individuals sit quietly on low to mid-level perches and can be remarkably inconspicuous. It is associated with intact primary forest but may persist in lightly disturbed areas with dense understory structure.
Altitude Range
50–250 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This small puffbird spends long periods motionless on low perches, making short sallies to snap up prey. It has a very limited range in the south-central Brazilian Amazon, where it favors dense terra firme understory. Because it is so quiet and cryptic, it can be overlooked even where present. Habitat loss from logging and fragmentation could affect local populations despite its current broad IUCN assessment.
Temperament
quiet and sedentary
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with brief, direct dashes between perches
Social Behavior
Usually encountered singly or in pairs, sometimes as family groups. Territorial pairs maintain small home ranges in dense understory. Nesting in puffbirds typically involves excavating a short burrow in earthen banks or similar substrates, where a small clutch is laid and both parents attend.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
The voice is a soft, thin series of whistled notes, often delivered from a concealed perch. Calls may include gentle, plaintive peeps and short trills, carrying only a short distance under the forest canopy.
Plumage
Compact, puffbird-like with a rich chestnut head contrasting with warmer brown upperparts and buffy underparts. Throat is pale buff, sometimes forming a narrow collar; feathers are smooth and plain without heavy streaking.
Diet
Primarily small arthropods, including beetles, orthopterans, caterpillars, and spiders. It hunts by sit-and-wait, sallying to pick prey from foliage or the ground. Occasionally takes small vertebrates when available, but insects dominate the diet.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in the shaded understory of terra firme forest, especially near vine tangles, bamboo, and dense sapling growth. Often forages along quiet trails and edges within continuous forest.
