Buff-bellied Puffbird

Buff-bellied Puffbird

Notharchus swainsoni

Silhouette: Matt Wilkins (Photo by Len Blumin) · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Serra dos Órgãos National Park

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%

41 Verified sightings at Serra dos Órgãos National Park From 2019 to 2026
441 In all 3 parks
September Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Buff-bellied Puffbird

The buff-bellied puffbird (Notharchus swainsoni) is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. During the second half of the twentieth century, the buff-bellied puffbird and what are now the white-necked puffbird (N. hyperrhynchus) and Guianan puffbird (N. macrorhynchus) were treated as conspecific. It is now treated as its own monotypic species.

The buff-bellied puffbird is about 23.5 cm (9.3 in) long and weighs 72 to 75.6 g (2.5 to 2.7 oz). The crown and upperparts are black with a green gloss and buffy edges to the feathers. It has a narrow white forehead, throat, and upper breast. The sides of the face and a thin band around the nape are grayish white. A wide black band separates the upper breast from the buffy to pale rufous belly. The flanks are gray. Its eye color can be straw, brown, or red.

The buff-bellied puffbird is found in eastern Paraguay, far northeastern Argentina's Misiones Province, and in southeastern Brazil from southern Bahia and Espírito Santo south to Santa Catarina. It is resident in Argentina... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:09

Brazil · 2023

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC838551 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:36

Brazil · 2022

© GABRIEL LEITE · XC736774 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Duet0:40

Brazil · 2021

© Ricardo Gagliardi · XC663700 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Serra dos Órgãos National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
2 Iguazú National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
<5%
3 Iguaçu National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Buff-bellied Puffbird in Serra dos Órgãos National Park?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Buff-bellied Puffbird sighting in Serra dos Órgãos National Park on a given day, based on 41 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 184th most-seen of the 336 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Buff-bellied Puffbird in Serra dos Órgãos National Park?

September

In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Buff-bellied Puffbird in Serra dos Órgãos National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–March, July and October–November, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Buff-bellied Puffbird?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Buff-bellied Puffbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Serra dos Órgãos National Park the best place to see a Buff-bellied Puffbird?

Yes

Of the 3 parks where we can rate Buff-bellied Puffbird sightings, Serra dos Órgãos National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Iguazú National Park (Argentina, under 5%) and Iguaçu National Park (Brazil, under 5%).

Where does the Buff-bellied Puffbird sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Buff-bellied Puffbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (41 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.

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