Jacamar
Encyclopedia
The jacamars are a family
, Galbulidae, of near passerine
bird
s from tropical South
and Central America
, extending up to Mexico
. The order contains five genera
and 18 species. The family is closely related to the puffbird
s, another Neotropical family, and the two families are often separated into their own order away from the Piciformes
, instead being placed in the Galbuliformes. They are principally birds of low altitude woodlands and forests, and particularly of forest edge and canopy.
bee-eater
s, as most ariel insectivores tend to have short wide bills as opposed to long thin ones. The legs are short and weak, and the feet are zygodactyl. Their plumage
is often bright and highly iridescent
, although it is quite dull in a few species. There are minor differences in plumage based on sex
, males often having a white patch on the breast.
s, taking a variety of insect
prey (many specialize on butterflies and moths) by hawking
in the air. Birds sit in favoured perches and sally towards the prey when it is close enough. Only the Great Jacamar
varies from the rest of the family, taking prey by gleaning
and occasionally taking small lizards and spiders.
, although a few species are thought to sometimes engage in cooperative breeding with several adults sharing duties. The family nests in holes either in the soil or in arboreal termite mounds. Ground nesting species usually nest in the banks of rivers (or more recently, roads), although if these are not available they will nest in the soil held by the roots of fallen trees. Bank-nesting jacamars can sometimes be loosely colonial
. Clutch sizes are between 1-4 eggs, with 2-4 being more common. Both parents participate in incubation
. Little is known about the incubation times of most species, although it lasts for between 19–26 days in the Rufous-tailed Jacamar
. Chicks are born with down feathers, unique among the piciformes.
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
, Galbulidae, of near passerine
Near passerine
Near passerine or higher land-bird assemblage are terms often given to arboreal birds or those most often believed to be related to the true passerines due to ecological similarities; the group corresponds to some extent with the Anomalogonatae of Garrod All near passerines are land birds...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s from tropical South
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, extending up to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The order contains five genera
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
and 18 species. The family is closely related to the puffbird
Puffbird
The puffbirds and their relatives in the near passerine family Bucconidae are tropical birds breeding from South America up to Mexico.They are related to the jacamars, but lack the iridescent colours of that family. They are mainly brown, rufous or grey, with large heads and flattened bills with a...
s, another Neotropical family, and the two families are often separated into their own order away from the Piciformes
Piciformes
Nine families of largely arboreal birds make up the order Piciformes, the best-known of them being the Picidae, which includes the woodpeckers and close relatives...
, instead being placed in the Galbuliformes. They are principally birds of low altitude woodlands and forests, and particularly of forest edge and canopy.
Description
The jacamars are small to medium sized perching birds ranging between 14–34 cm in length and weighing between 17-75 g. They are glossy elegant birds with long bills and tails. In appearance and behaviour they show resemblances to the Old WorldOld World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
bee-eater
Bee-eater
The bee-eaters are a group of near-passerine birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa and Asia but others occur in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies, and usually elongated central tail feathers...
s, as most ariel insectivores tend to have short wide bills as opposed to long thin ones. The legs are short and weak, and the feet are zygodactyl. Their plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
is often bright and highly iridescent
Iridescence
Iridescence is generally known as the property of certain surfaces which appear to change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes...
, although it is quite dull in a few species. There are minor differences in plumage based on sex
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...
, males often having a white patch on the breast.
Diet and feeding
Jacamars are insectivoreInsectivore
An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures. An alternate term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of eating insects....
s, taking a variety of insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
prey (many specialize on butterflies and moths) by hawking
Hawking (birds)
Hawking is a feeding strategy in birds involving catching flying insects in the air. The term usually refers to a technique of sallying out from a perch to snatch an insect and then returning to the same or a different perch...
in the air. Birds sit in favoured perches and sally towards the prey when it is close enough. Only the Great Jacamar
Great Jacamar
The Great Jacamar is a species of bird in the Galbulidae family. It is placed in the monotypic genus Jacamerops....
varies from the rest of the family, taking prey by gleaning
Gleaning (birds)
Gleaning is a term for a feeding strategy by birds in which they catch invertebrate prey, mainly arthropods, by plucking them from foliage or the ground, from crevices such as rock faces and under the eaves of houses, or even, as in the case of ticks and lice, from living animals. This behavior is...
and occasionally taking small lizards and spiders.
Breeding
The breeding systems of jacamars have not been studied in depth. They are thought to generally be monogamousMonogamy
Monogamy /Gr. μονός+γάμος - one+marriage/ a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse at any one time. In current usage monogamy often refers to having one sexual partner irrespective of marriage or reproduction...
, although a few species are thought to sometimes engage in cooperative breeding with several adults sharing duties. The family nests in holes either in the soil or in arboreal termite mounds. Ground nesting species usually nest in the banks of rivers (or more recently, roads), although if these are not available they will nest in the soil held by the roots of fallen trees. Bank-nesting jacamars can sometimes be loosely colonial
Bird colony
A bird colony is a large congregation of individuals of one or more species of bird that nest or roost in close proximity at a particular location. Many kinds of birds are known to congregate in groups of varying size; a congregation of nesting birds is called a breeding colony...
. Clutch sizes are between 1-4 eggs, with 2-4 being more common. Both parents participate in incubation
Avian incubation
Incubation refers to the process by which certain oviparous animals hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. Especially in domestic fowl, the act of...
. Little is known about the incubation times of most species, although it lasts for between 19–26 days in the Rufous-tailed Jacamar
Rufous-tailed Jacamar
The Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Galbula ruficauda, is a near-passerine bird which breeds in the tropical New World in southern Mexico, Central America and South America as far south as southern Brazil and Ecuador....
. Chicks are born with down feathers, unique among the piciformes.
Species
FAMILY: GABULIDAE- Genus: GalbalcyrhynchusGalbalcyrhynchusGalbalcyrhynchus is a genus of bird in the Galbulidae family.It contains the following species:* White-eared Jacamar * Purus Jacamar...
- White-eared JacamarWhite-eared JacamarThe White-eared Jacamar is a species of bird in the Galbulidae family.It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical swamps and heavily degraded former forest....
, Galbalcyrhynchus leucotis - Purus Jacamar, Galbalcyrhynchus purusianus
- White-eared Jacamar
- Genus: BrachygalbaBrachygalbaBrachygalba is a genus of bird in the Galbulidae family.It contains the following species:* White-throated Jacamar * Pale-headed Jacamar * Brown Jacamar...
- Dusky-backed JacamarDusky-backed JacamarThe Dusky-backed Jacamar is a species of bird in the Galbulidae family.It is found in Colombia and Panama. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest....
, Brachygalba salmoni - Pale-headed JacamarPale-headed JacamarThe Pale-headed Jacamar is a species of bird in the Galbulidae family.It is found in Colombia and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests....
, Brachygalba goeringi - Brown JacamarBrown JacamarThe Brown Jacamar is a species of bird in the Galbulidae family.It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela....
, Brachygalba lugubris - White-throated JacamarWhite-throated JacamarThe White-throated Jacamar is a species of bird in the Galbulidae family.It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
, Brachygalba albogularis
- Dusky-backed Jacamar
- Genus: Jacamaralcyon
- Three-toed JacamarThree-toed JacamarThe Three-toed Jacamar is a species of bird in the Galbulidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Jacamaralcyon....
, Jacamaralcyon tridactyla
- Three-toed Jacamar
- Genus: GalbulaGalbulaGalbula is a genus of bird in the Galbulidae family.It contains the following species:* Yellow-billed Jacamar, Galbula albirostris Latham, 1790* Purplish Jacamar, Galbula chalcothorax P. L...
- Yellow-billed JacamarYellow-billed JacamarThe Yellow-billed Jacamar is a species of bird in the Galbulidae family.It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela...
, Galbula albirostris - Blue-necked JacamarBlue-necked JacamarThe Blue-necked Jacamar or Blue-cheeked Jacamar is a species of bird in the Galbulidae family.It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
, Galbula cyanicollis - Rufous-tailed JacamarRufous-tailed JacamarThe Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Galbula ruficauda, is a near-passerine bird which breeds in the tropical New World in southern Mexico, Central America and South America as far south as southern Brazil and Ecuador....
, Galbula ruficauda - Green-tailed JacamarGreen-tailed JacamarThe Green-tailed Jacamar is a species of bird in the Galbulidae family.It is native to Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are moist lowland forests, both tropical and subtropical, and heavily degraded former forest.-References:* IUCN 2008 Red List....
, Galbula galbula - Coppery-chested JacamarCoppery-chested JacamarThe Coppery-chested Jacamar is a species of bird in the Galbulidae family. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
, Galbula pastazae - Bluish-fronted JacamarBluish-fronted JacamarThe Bluish-fronted Jacamar is a species of bird in the Galbulidae family.It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
, Galbula cyanescens - White-chinned JacamarWhite-chinned JacamarThe White-chinned Jacamar is a species of bird in the Galbulidae family.It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical swamps....
, Galbula tombacea - Purplish JacamarPurplish JacamarThe Purplish Jacamar is a species of bird in the Galbulidae family.It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
, Galbula chalcothorax - Bronzy JacamarBronzy JacamarThe Bronzy Jacamar is a species of bird in the Galbulidae family. It is found in north-central South America in the Amazon Basin and the Guianas....
, Galbula leucogastra - Paradise JacamarParadise JacamarThe Paradise Jacamar, Galbula dea, is a small, approximately 30cm long bird with a long pointed tail, dark brown cap, white throat and long needle-like bill. It has dark greenish blue plumage with iridescent wings. Both sexes are similar....
, Galbula dea
- Yellow-billed Jacamar
- Genus: Jacamerops
- Great JacamarGreat JacamarThe Great Jacamar is a species of bird in the Galbulidae family. It is placed in the monotypic genus Jacamerops....
, Jacamerops aureus
- Great Jacamar
External links
- Jacamar videos on the Internet Bird Collection