Nystalus chacuru
Silhouette: Matt Wilkins (Photo by Len Blumin) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The white-eared puffbird (Nystalus chacuru) is a species of bird in the Bucconidae family, the puffbirds. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Peru, where it inhabits tropical and subtropical dry forests, subtropical and tropical moist forests, gallery forests, tropical savanna, and heavily degraded former forest.
Like some other puffbirds, the white-eared puffbird is a round, plump bird with a very narrow tail. The head is relatively large, with a dark brown barred crown, and an orange, black-tipped bill. The sit-and-wait feeding strategy, for insects or opportunistic prey, may explain this body shape.
The bird has a medium-brown back and wings, with dark rufous speckles and bars; white and black flecked on the breast. The upper breast is white, extending to a narrow-to-medium white collar around the neck. There is a distinctive, medium-sized white ear patch, which gives the species its common name, and that is surrounded by a dark ear patch. It has a medium-sized tail in dark brown and slightly graduated, with narrow, widely spaced buffy bars, and a pale tip. It measures about 21–22 cm (8.3–8.7 in) in length and weighs between 48–64 g. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Chapada dos Guimarães National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Chapada Diamantina National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 7 | Itatiaia National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GüiráOga | 🇦🇷 Argentina |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-eared Puffbird sighting in Iguaçu National Park on a given day, based on 180 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 179th most-seen of the 346 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-eared Puffbird in Iguaçu National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July–September and November–May, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-eared Puffbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate White-eared Puffbird sightings, Iguaçu National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Emas National Park (Brazil, about 50%), Serra da Canastra National Park (Brazil, about 30%) and Chapada dos Guimarães National Park (Brazil, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-eared Puffbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Iguaçu National Park (180 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
