PICIFORMES of The World
The order Piciformes is made up of the woodpecker family Picidae plus 8 other families. Picidae make up about half of the species. In general, the Piciformes are insectivorous, but some exceptions eat mostly fruit. Nearly all Piciformes have parrot-like feet—two toes forward and two back, an arrangement that has obvious advantages for birds that spend much of their time on tree trunks. And most Piciformes do not have down feathers at any age, only true feathers. All nest in cavites. [abstracted from Wikipedia]
Puffbirds
Order Piciformes Suborder Galbulae Family Bucconidae
The puffbirds and their relatives are tropical birds breeding from South America up to Mexico. They are mainly brown, rufous or gray, with large heads and flattened bills with a hooked tip. The loose abundant plumage and short tails makes them look stout and puffy, giving rise to their name. They feed on insects and small vertebrates caught by a watch and wait technique. They are mainly hole nesters, laying 2-3 glossy white eggs in a hole in the ground or a termite mound. [abstracted from Wikipedia]
Genus Malacoptila
Puffbird, White-whiskered Malacoptila panamensis Found: Mexico, Ecuador
Photographed by: 1) Francesco Veronesi - Canopy Tower in Panama 2) Dominic Sherony - Panama 3) Len Blumin
Genus Malacoptila
Puffbird, Crescent-chested Malacoptila striata Found: South America
Photographed by: Dario Sanches - Brazil
Genus Micromonacha - 1 species
Monklet, Lanceolated Micromonacha lanceolata Found: South America
Photographed by: Joel Rosentha - Peru
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Genus Monasa
Nunbird, Black-fronted Monasa nigrifrons Found: South America
Photographed by: 1) Wagner Lemes 2) Charlie Westerinen - the Amazon, Peru
3) Cláudio Timm - the Amazon, Brazil 4) Leonardo Fleck
Genus Notharchus
Puffbird, White-necked Notharchus hyperrhynchus Found: Columbia, Ecuador, Panama
Photographed by: Jerry Kirkhart - Belize
Puffbird, Black-breasted Notharchus pectoralis Found: Columbia, Ecuador, Panama
Photographed by: Kb4003 - Panama
Genus Nystalus
Puffbird, Barred Nystalus radiatus South America
Photographed by: Mdf - Panama
The jacamars are found in Central and South America. Their closest neighbors the puffbirds are also found in this region. Like the rest of the piciformes, the jacamars have two toes forward and two toes facing to the rear. The jacamars are the only piciform family that has down feathers in the young. They have long tails and bills which produce a hummingbird type appearance, but the jacamars live on insects, not nector.
Genus Galbula
Jacamar, Rufous-tailed Galbula ruficauda Found: Central and South America
Photographed by: 1, 2) New Jersy Birds 3) Jerry Oldenettel - Costa Rica 4) Dario Sanches - Brazil
Jacamar, White-chinned Galbula tombacea Found: South America
Photographed by: Cláudio Timm - the Amazon, Brazil
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