Rufous-tailed jacamar

Galbula ruficauda

(Photo from So Much Science)

Common name:
rufous-tailed jacamar (en); ariramba-de-cauda-ruiva (pt); jacamar à queue rousse (fr); jacamará colirrufo (es); rotschwanz-glanzvogel (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Galbuliformes
Family Galbulidae

Range:
This species is found from southern Mexico down to western Colombia, north-western Ecuador, northern Venezuela and the Guyanas. Also in Brazil south of the Amazon river, from Pará and Maranhão down to São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul, and west into Bolivia and northern Paraguay.

Size:
These birds are 22-25 cm long and weigh 20-33,5 g.

Habitat:
The rufous-tailed jacamar is mostly found along the edges of moist tropical forests, also using forest clearings and openings along rivers and streams. They can also be found in tall second growths, cacao plantations, mangroves, dry tropical forests and even arid scrublands. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 900 m.

Diet:
They hunt flying insects by sallying out from a perch, preferring butterflies, dragonflies, wasps and flies, but also taking grasshoppers and bugs. They are known to take poisonous butterflies that other animals avoid, being able to selectively eat the meaty, non-toxic body parts, namely the thoracic muscles and abdomen, and discard the rest.

Breeding:
Rufous-tailed jacamars can breed all year round, varying between different parts of their range. They are monogamous and nest in a 30-40 cm long burrow, excavated by both sexes
in almost any vertical or steeply inclined surface of bare earth, including steep slopes, banks, gully walls, clay adhering to fallen tree roots, and termitaries. The female lays 2-4 white eggs with cinnamon spots, which are incubated by both parents for 19-23 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 18-26 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and a global population estimated at 0,5-5 million individuals. Despite this species tolerance of degraded and man-made habitats declines have been reported in Panama and Costa Rica owing to hunting pressure, human interference and habitat loss.

Coppery-chested jacamar

Galbula pastazae

Photo by Nick Athanas (Antpitta)

Common name:
coppery-chested jacamar (en); ariramba-acobreada (pt); jacamar des Andes (fr); jacamará cobrizo (es); kupferglanzvogel (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Galbuliformes
Family Galbulidae


Range:
This species is found along the eastern slopes of the Andes, in southern Colombia, Ecuador and across the border into northern Peru.


Size:
These birds are 23-24 cm long and weigh 30-35 g.


Habitat:
The coppery-chested jacamar is found in mountain rainforests, especially along forest edges and in nearby second growths, at altitudes of 600-1.700 m.


Diet:
They eat a wide variety of flying insects, including beetles, wasps and butterflies, which they catch by sallying out from a perch and catching them in the air.


Breeding:
Coppery-chested jacamars nest in holes well-hidden in the ground. The female lays 1-4 white eggs which are incubated by both parents for 20-23 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 21-26 days after hatching.


Conservation:
IUCN status - VU (Vulnerable)
This species has a small and fragmented breeding range, and the global population is estimated at 2.500-10.000 individuals. The population is suspected to be declining slowly as a result of habitat destruction and fragmentation. The lower slopes of the eastern Andes in Ecuador are seriously affected by clearance for small-scale agriculture, and for tea and coffee plantations, with forest disappearing at an alarming rate. In Colombia, the forest remains as the climate and terrain are unsuited to coffee or tea growing. Proposals to build a new road in the area may represent a further threat.

Three-toed jacamar

Jacamaralcyon tridactyla

Photo by João Quental (Tree of Life)

Common name:

three-toed jacamar (en); cuitelão (pt); jacamar tridactyle (fr); jacamará tridáctilo (es); dreizehen-glanzvogel (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Galbuliformes

Family Galbulidae

Range:

The three-toed jacamar is endemic to south-east Brazil, from northern Minas Gerais south to north-west Paraná.

Size:

These birds are 17-20 cm long and weigh 17,5-19 g.

Habitat:

They are found in subtropical or tropical dry forests, and in subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, mostly near river banks. They can also be found in degraded areas where the native vegetations has been replaced by plantations, namely Eucaplytus.

Diet:

They forage on small insects in flight, showing a preference for small cryptic Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera. Birds also take Diptera, Odonata, Homoptera, Hemiptera and Isoptera.

Breeding:

Three-toed jacamars breed in September-February. They nest in cavities excavated in earth banks and there is evidence that females are responsible for most of the excavating. They are possibly colonial, as up to 20 holes have been recorded in same bank. Each clutch consists of 2-4 eggs which are incubated by both parents.

Conservation:

IUCN status - Vu (Vulnerable)

With a restricted breeding range and a declining population estimated at as little as 1000 individuals, the species is threatened by habitat destruction and fragmentation and is currently considered vulnerable.