Chestnut-crested Puffbird

Chestnut-crested Puffbird

Malacoptila striata

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

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR Endemic
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Serra dos Órgãos National Park

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

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

About the Chestnut-crested Puffbird

The crescent-chested puffbird (Malacoptila striata) is a species of near-passerine bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is endemic to Brazil. The crescent-chested puffbird was for a time called Malacoptila torquata but since the mid-1900s it has borne its current binomial. However, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) treat those entities as separate species, the greater and lesser crescent-chested puffbirds respectively.

The crescent-chested puffbird is 17.5 to 20 cm (6.9 to 7.9 in) long. The nominate's head and upperparts are blackish with buffy streaks. The face is rufous around the bill and has a buffy or white "moustache". The wing is brown with buffy markings; the tail is plain dark brown. The upper breast has a white crescent with... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:37

Brazil · 2023

© Franciel da Silva Lima · XC1137732 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Canto0:17

Brazil · 2018

© Caio Brito · XC556397 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:18

Brazil · 2017

© GABRIEL LEITE · XC349988 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Serra dos Órgãos National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
2 Tijuca National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
3 Serra da Canastra National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Rio de Janeiro 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
2 São Paulo 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Before you go

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

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Chestnut-crested Puffbird sighting in Serra dos Órgãos National Park on a given day, based on 139 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 107th most-seen of the 336 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

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

July and September

In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Chestnut-crested Puffbird in Serra dos Órgãos National Park on a given day, against about 10% in February–April, June and August, the lowest months. Those are among Serra dos Órgãos National Park's driest months, with about 85 mm of rain a month against 310 mm in November.

What time of day is best to see a Chestnut-crested Puffbird?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Chestnut-crested 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.

Is Serra dos Órgãos National Park the best place to see a Chestnut-crested Puffbird?

Yes

Of the 3 parks where we can rate Chestnut-crested Puffbird sightings, Serra dos Órgãos National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Tijuca National Park (Brazil, under 5%) and Serra da Canastra National Park (Brazil, under 5%).

Where does the Chestnut-crested Puffbird sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Chestnut-crested Puffbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (139 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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