The yellow-billed jacamar is a species of bird in the family Galbulidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
Region
Amazon Basin
Typical Environment
Occurs widely across lowland tropical forests of northern South America, including Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. It favors terra firme and várzea forest edges, river corridors, and light gaps where flying insects are abundant. Often seen perched quietly along streams, forest margins, and clearings, from the understory to midstory. It tolerates secondary growth and semi-open woodland but requires proximity to forested cover. Local presence can be patchy where riverbanks suitable for nesting are absent.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 900 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The yellow-billed jacamar is a sit-and-wait aerial insect hunter with a striking pale yellow to ivory bill. Males have a crisp white throat while females show a buffy throat, both with iridescent green upperparts and rufous underparts. They often nest by tunneling into earthen riverbanks or road cuts. Their presence is a good indicator of intact forest edges along rivers and clearings.
Female (left) and male (right), illustration by Keulemans
Temperament
quiet and watchful
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with direct sallies from a perch
Social Behavior
Typically seen singly, in pairs, or as small family groups. Pairs defend feeding territories along forest edges and waterways. They nest in burrows excavated in earthen banks or similar soft substrates, where both sexes participate in excavation and incubation.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A series of thin, high-pitched whistles often delivered from a shaded perch. Calls include sharp tseet notes and soft piping phrases, repeated at intervals during active periods. Vocalizations carry modestly through the understory.
Plumage
Iridescent green upperparts with a contrasting white (male) or buff (female) throat and rich rufous underparts; long, slender, pale yellow to ivory bill.
Diet
Feeds primarily on flying insects such as butterflies, dragonflies, bees, wasps, and beetles. It sallies from an exposed perch to snatch prey mid-air, often returning to the same perch. Prey with stingers are typically subdued by beating them against the perch and removing stingers before swallowing.
Preferred Environment
Forages along sunlit forest edges, riverbanks, and clearings adjacent to dense cover. Uses low to midstory perches with open airspace for hawking insects, often near water where insect activity is high.
