The Purus jacamar (''Galbalcyrhynchus purusianus'') is a species of
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
in the family
Galbulidae
The jacamars are a family, Galbulidae, of near passerine birds from tropical South and Central America, extending up to Mexico. The family contains five genera and 18 species. The family is closely related to the puffbirds, another Neotropical ...
. It is found in
Bolivia,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, and
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
.
[Tobias, J., T. Züchner, T.A. de Melo Júnior, and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Purus Jacamar (''Galbalcyrhynchus purusianus''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.purjac2.01 retrieved May 9, 2021]
Taxonomy and systematics
The Purus jacamar shares genus ''Galbalcyrhynchus'' with the white-eared jacamar (''G. leucotis''). They were originally treated a separate species, then as
conspecific
Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species.
Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organis ...
("chestnut jacamar"), but are now understood to be separate species.
[Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 19 January 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved January 19, 2021] The Purus jacamar is
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...
.
[
]
Description
The Purus jacamar is long and weighs . It is stouter than many jacamars, and has a more robust bill. It is almost entirely chestnut, with dark bronzy forehead, crown, wings, and tail. The juvenile is paler and its bill is shorter.[
]
Distribution and habitat
The Purus jacamar is found in the upper Amazon Basin of eastern Peru, western Brazil, and northern Bolivia. In this humid region, it inhabits '' terra firme'' and '' várzea'' forest, both primary and secondary. It prefers edges such as along waterways and oxbow lakes.[
]
Behavior
Feeding
The Purus jacamar preys on insects, with Hymenoptera (bees and wasps) and Isoptera
Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattod ...
(termites) favored. It perches at mid- to upper canopy height singly or in small groups and sallies out to capture its prey.[
]
Breeding
The Purus jacamar has been documented excavating cavities in termite nests high in trees in Brazil and Peru. It is apparently a cooperative breeder, as the Peru cavity was excavated by six individuals and groups of up to six individuals have been noted singing together.[
]
Vocalization
The Purus jacamar's vocalizations are essentially identical to those of white-eared jacamar. The song is a rising tril
and the calls "a series of loud 'peeeur' whistles and a sharp 'pee'â€
[
]
Status
The IUCN has assessed the Purus jacamar as being of Least Concern.[ It ranges from scarce in Peru to locally common in Brazil and " parently tolerates disturbed and partially man-modified habitats, and no specific threats are known."][
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1265756
Purus jacamar
Birds of the Amazon Basin
Birds of the Bolivian Amazon
Birds of the Peruvian Amazon
Purus jacamar
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot