The white-chested puffbird is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is one of seven species in the genus Malacoptila. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.
Region
Amazon Basin and Guiana Shield
Typical Environment
Found in humid lowland rainforests across northern South America, including terra firme and seasonally flooded várzea. It favors shaded forest interior, edges, river corridors, and older secondary growth with dense understory. Birds perch quietly 1–10 m above ground on horizontal branches, often near gaps or stream margins. It can persist in moderately degraded forest so long as dense cover and perches are available.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1000 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
White-chested puffbirds are classic sit-and-wait predators, often remaining motionless for long periods before sallying to snatch prey. They typically nest in tunnels excavated into earthen banks or termitaria. Their soft, whistled calls carry in the still of early morning, but the birds are easily overlooked in dense understory.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with brief, direct bursts between perches
Social Behavior
Usually encountered alone or in pairs, spending long periods perched quietly. Pairs defend territories and communicate with soft whistles. Nesting typically involves excavating a burrow in an earthen bank or termitarium where 2–3 eggs are laid; both adults participate in care.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A soft, mournful series of whistled notes, often delivered as spaced pew or peeu phrases. Calls carry at dawn and dusk through still forest, sometimes answered antiphonally by a mate.
Plumage
Overall dusky to chocolate-brown upperparts with a contrasting clean white throat and chest; underparts may show faint buffy wash toward the belly and flanks. Feathers appear soft and slightly fluffy, giving a puffy look. The tail is dark and relatively long; wings may show subtle pale spotting or edging.
Diet
Primarily large arthropods such as beetles, orthopterans, and spiders, taken in sudden sallies from a perch. It occasionally captures small vertebrates like lizards or small frogs. Prey is typically subdued with the stout bill and swallowed whole.
Preferred Environment
Hunts from horizontal perches in shaded understory and lower midstory, especially along forest edges, streams, and light gaps. Often selects vantage points with clear shooting lanes into thickets or along trails.
