Russet-throated puffbird

The russet-throated puffbird (Hypnelus ruficollis) is a near-passerine bird which breeds in tropical South America in northeastern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela. It is commonly named in Colombia as Bobito, Utta, Tol and Coludo.

Russet-throated puffbird
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Piciformes
Family:	Bucconidae
Genus:	Hypnelus
Species:	H. ruficollis
Binomial name
Hypnelus ruficollis (Wagler, 1829)

The puffbirds are an insectivorous bird family related to the jacamars, but lacking the iridescent colours of that group. The russet-throated puffbird is fairly common in dry scrub and dry forest. It excavates a burrow in an arboreal termite colony and lays three white eggs.

The russet-throated puffbird is typically 22 cm (8.7 in) long and weighs 50 g (1.8 oz). It is a dumpy bird with a large head, a long tail and a thick black hooked-tipped bill. The face is mainly white with a large yellow eye. The upperparts are brown with whitish spotting and white wing tips.

The underparts vary considerably. The two western subspecies have an off-white throat, buff underparts, and two dark brown chest bands. Some authorities split this genus into two species, the other being the two-banded puffbird, H. bicinctus.[2] The three subspecies found in Colombia and in Venezuela east of the Andes have a single breast band, a deep rufous throat and whitish or buff underparts.

This insectivore hunts from a perch, sitting and watching, then flying down to catch insects, lizards and other small prey.

The russet-throated puffbird's call is a long series of woduk notes, often given synchronously by a pair of birds.