Chelidoptera tenebrosa
The Swallow-winged Puffbird (Chelidoptera tenebrosa) is a distinctive member of the Bucconidae family, captivating birders with its unique aerial hunting style. Measuring approximately 14 cm (5.5 inches) in length and weighing around 19-24 grams, this small puffbird presents a striking appearance with its glossy dusky-black upperparts, contrasting sharply with a bright white belly and a prominent white rump patch, often visible in flight. Its most defining feature, the long, pointed wings rem...
This puffbird primarily inhabits humid lowland evergreen forests, favoring forest edges, clearings, and riverine habitats, typically found from sea level up to elevations of around 1000 meters.
The Swallow-winged Puffbird is an obligate aerial insectivore, primarily consuming flying insects such as beetles, moths, dragonflies, bees, wasps, and termites, captured with expert precision in mid-air.
Unlike most of its more sedentary puffbird relatives, the Swallow-winged Puffbird exhibits highly active daily patterns, spending considerable time in agile aerial pursuit of insects. It typically perches on exposed branches at mid-to-upper canopy levels, scanning for prey before launching into s...
The Swallow-winged Puffbird boasts a wide and largely continuous distribution across South America's humid tropical lowlands. Its primary range encompasses the entire Amazon Basin, extending through eastern Colombia, southern Venezuela, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, northern Bolivia, and vast st...
Least Concern
- Despite its common name, the Swallow-winged Puffbird is not related to true swallows (family Hirundinidae); its name refers solely to its distinctive swallow-like flight. - Unlike most puffbirds, which are ambush predators, this species is a highly agile aerial hawker, snatching insects on the ...