Coppery-chested Jacamar
Galbula pastazae
Sparkling green and rusty bird found in cloud forest along the east slope of the Andes, at higher elevations than other jacamars. Mostly restricted to Ecuador, but it also reaches southern Colombia and extreme northern Peru. Green with reddish belly and undertail, blue crown and throat, and buffy eyering. Female has reddish throat. Long, thin bill may give the impression of an enormous hummingbird. Perches at low to mid levels, looking around frantically before sallying out to snatch an insect.
Identification
The coppery-chested jacamar is 23 to 24 cm (9.1 to 9.4 in) long and weighs approximately 31 to 32 g (1.1 to 1.1 oz). The male's crown is metallic green with a blue gloss. The rest of the upper parts are metallic bronzy green. The throat and breast are shiny green and the belly and vent area are dark rufous. The female is similar except that the chin and throat are dark rufous.
Taxonomy
The coppery-chested jacamar is monotypic. It and the rufous-tailed (Galbula ruficauda), white-chinned (G. tombacea), bluish-fronted (G. cyanescens), and green-tailed jacamars (G. glabula) are considered to form a superspecies.
- Scientific name
- Galbula pastazae
- Authority
- Taczanowski & Berlepsch, 1885
- Order
- Galbuliformes
- Family
- Galbulidae
- Genus
- Galbula
Range and habitat
The coppery-chested jacamar is effectively endemic to Ecuador, though there are records from a single site in each of far southern Colombia and far northern Peru. It is found on the east slope of the Andes between approximately 750 to 1,500 m (2,460 to 4,920 ft) in Ecuador. The Colombia record, at El Carmen, Nariño Department, was at 1,600 m (5,200 ft) and the Peru record, on the upper Comaina River, Amazonas Department, was at 1,430 m (4,690 ft). The coppery-chested jacamar inhabits humid montane forest. It is a bird of the understory, being found along forest edges, along watercourses, and at tree falls and landslides that provide openings.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The coppery-chested jacamar is insectivorous but few details of its diet or feeding methods are known.<p>One known nest of the coppery-chested jacamar was a burrow in an earth bank. Little else has been documented about its breeding. <p>The coppery-chested jacamar's song is "a rising series of wee notes, sometimes ending in a descending rattle" [1]. Its call is "a weet note, singly or in a series" [2].
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Gray-green Scrubwren
Aethomyias arfakianus
A small bird of lower montane forest interior. Whitish belly, pale gray head and greenish wing. Pale grayish wash on the chest with faint streaking, offsetting the whitish throat. Actively searches leaves and branches for insects in small groups. Co-occurs at elevations with other scrubwrens including Vogelkop, Pale-billed and Perplexing, but Gray-green has olive rather than warm brown upperparts. Song, a scratchy jumble of notes followed by an up and down “chi-doo! chi-doo! chi-doo!”. Calls, various raspy, nasal notes and chattering.
Singing Quail
Dactylortyx thoracicus
Small, retiring quail of forest understory. Rarely seen, but can be located by listening for noisy rustling in the leaf litter as birds scratch like chickens. Prefers to run away rather than flush. Loud song often reveals its presence, given mainly early and late in the day: first few notes similar to Little Tinamou song, but then breaks into rollicking choruses that can be almost deafening if close by. Male has rusty face and gray body, female colors reversed, with gray face and rusty body.
Capuchin Babbler
Turdoides atripennis
A chunky, short-tailed babbler with a purple-brown body, a yellowish bill and legs, and a mostly silver-gray head; the amount of black and gray on the throat and crown differ geographically. Unmistakable if seen well. Family groups of 5–12 are local residents skulking in the undergrowth and tangles of forest, secondary growth, and riparian thickets in savanna. Groups mostly communicate with dry harsh grating calls and chattering, but occasionally give a whimsical high-pitched, downslurred thrush-like whistle: “wheeeer.”
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