Bucco macrodactylus
Silhouette: Matt Wilkins (Photo by Len Blumin) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The chestnut-capped puffbird (Bucco macrodactylus) is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. The chestnut-capped puffbird has variously been placed in genera Bucco, Argicus, and Cyphos. As of 2021, the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) and the Clements taxonomy place it in Bucco, while BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) place it by itself in Cyphos. All three treat it as monotypic, though part of the Venezuelan population has sometimes been separated as B. m. caurensis.
The chestnut-capped puffbird is 14 to 16.5 cm (5.5 to 6.5 in) long and weighs about 25 g (0.88 oz). Its plumage is unique among puffbirds. Its crown is chestnut, its nape a bright reddish orange, and the rest of the upperparts brown with a few lighter bars on the back and many on the rump. The tail is long, narrow, and warm dark brown. It has a thin white supercilium, black cheeks and lower throat with a white line between them, and a reddish white chin and upper throat. The chin feathers curl up over the base of the... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 2 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 3 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 4 | Amacayacu National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 5 | Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Chestnut-capped Puffbird sighting in Tambopata National Reserve on a given day, based on 126 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 279th most-seen of the 550 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, May and October–December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Chestnut-capped Puffbird in Tambopata National Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in January, March–April and June–September, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Chestnut-capped 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.
2nd of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Chestnut-capped Puffbird sightings, Tambopata National Reserve ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Manu National Park (Peru, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Chestnut-capped Puffbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Tambopata National Reserve (126 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.
