Rufous-tailed Jacamar
Galbula ruficauda
Handsome, slender, green-and-rusty bird of humid tropical lowlands. Lives in evergreen forest, often at edges and around adjacent clearings. Perches upright at mid-heights on vines or other exposed perches and sallies out for flying insects, especially butterflies, dragonflies, and wasps. Note the very long, slender black bill (like a giant hummingbird). Throat is white on male and buffy on female. Loud shrieking calls may draw attention.
Identification
Like other jacamars they are elegant, brightly coloured birds with long bills and tails. The rufous-tailed jacamar is typically 25 cm (10 in) long with a 5 cm (2 in) long black bill. The subspecies G. r. brevirostris has, as its name implies, a shorter bill. This bird is metallic green above, and the underparts are mainly orange, including the undertail, but there is a green breast band. Sexes differ in that the male has a white throat, and the female a buff throat; she also tends to have paler underparts. The race G. r. pallens has a copper-coloured back in both sexes.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Galbula ruficauda
- Authority
- Cuvier, 1816
- Order
- Galbuliformes
- Family
- Galbulidae
- Genus
- Galbula
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Plumbeous Pigeon
Patagioenas plumbea
Large dark pigeon of forest interior. Overall purplish-gray, slightly darker and browner on wings. Pale eye. Sexes alike. Note plainer appearance and longer tail than many other doves and pigeons. Most similar to Ruddy Pigeon but plumage grayer (not reddish) and eye paler. Usually quite secretive, staying in the canopy where singles or pairs feed on fruits. Found from lowlands into subtropical zone, up to 2,300 m (7,500 ft). More often heard than seen; listen for the cooing “who-cooks-for-you” song with the last two notes drawn out.
Pearly Parakeet
Pyrrhura lepida
Long-tailed forest parakeet with a dark crown, a scaled nape and breast, and a blue tinge to the cheeks, breast, and vent. Found in humid forest, at forest edges, and in old second growth, where it is usually encountered flying through the subcanopy in noisy flocks or eating quietly at fruiting trees.
African Shrike-flycatcher
Megabyas flammulatus
A distinctive shrike-like bird of forest and forest edge, often seen perched upright on branches wagging its tail from side to side. Looks like a heavyset flycatcher with a large hooked bill, a big head, a relatively short tail, and a large body. Males are typically white below and black above with a red eye and a white rump patch. Females are white below with strong black streaking and white lores, and generally reddish-brown above with darker primary flight feathers. Similar to Black-and-white Shrike-Flycatcher, but African Shrike-Flycatcher has a white throat and no crest, and females have streaked undersides. Calls include a descending “PWHEEEeeeer,” single “cherdew” calls, and doubled sets of variable, almost mechanical phrases: “perit-perit, tchledew-tchledew.”.
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