Nystalus obamai
Silhouette: Matt Wilkins (Photo by Len Blumin) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The western striolated puffbird (Nystalus obamai) is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC), the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (SACC), and the Clements taxonomy treat the western striolated puffbird as a species. According to them, the original striolated puffbird (Nystalus striolatus) was found to include a previously undefined species that is now the western striolated puffbird; it had not been recognized even as a subspecies. N. striolatus was renamed "eastern striolated puffbird" after the split.
The western striolated puffbird's specific epithet honors former U.S. president Barack Obama. The western striolated puffbird is monotypic. The western striolated puffbird is 19.8 to 21 cm (7.8 to 8.3 in) long and weighs...
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 2 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 3 | Madidi National Park | 🇧🇴 Bolivia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Western Puffbird sighting in Madidi National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 215th most-seen of the 239 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.
January–February, September and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Western Puffbird in Madidi National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April–August and October, the lowest months. March and December have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Western Puffbird sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Western Puffbird sightings, Madidi National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Tambopata National Reserve (Peru, about 10%) and Manu National Park (Peru, under 5%).
Same family: Bucconidae
The closest relatives of the Western Puffbird that you can see in Madidi National Park (family Bucconidae, Puffbirds) are Black-fronted Nunbird (about 40%) and Swallow-wing Puffbird (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Western Puffbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Madidi National Park (5 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.
