Animalia Life
Malacoptila panamensis
TAXONOMY
Malacoptila panamensis Lafresnaye, 1847, Panama. Four subspecies
recognized.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Tamatia de Lafresnaye; German: WeiЯzьgel-faulvogel;
Spanish: Buco Barbуn.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
7.1–8.3 in (18–21 cm); 1.2–1.6 oz (33–46 g). Male mainly rufous,
with white ‘whiskers’; belly and flanks streaked blackish
and white. Female similar, but duller brown on head and upperparts.
Bill dark with basal two-thirds of lower mandible yellow;
eyes red.
DISTRIBUTION
M. p. inornata: southeastern Mexico to western Panama; M. p.
panamensis: southwestern Costa Rica to northwestern Colombia;
M. p. magdalenae: west-central Colombia. M. p. poliopis:
southwestern Colombia and western Ecuador.
HABITAT
Occurs in lower strata of primary and secondary humid forest
and adjacent shady pastures; often perches by small openings
such as trails.
BEHAVIOR
Sedentary on year-round pair territories. Perches immobile and
inconspicuous for long periods.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Still-hunts from horizontal perches, consuming large arthropods,
especially grasshoppers; small reptiles and amphibians are
also taken. Sometimes attends ant swarms or mixed-species
flocks.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Nest burrows are dug in level or sloping ground, or in arboreal
termitaries; occasionally uses tree holes. Same hole can be used in
successive breeding attempts. Two to three eggs are laid; incubation
period unknown but fledging period is about 20 days.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened. Although rare in the northern portion of its
range, it is common in southern Costa Rica and parts of western
Colombia and Ecuador.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.
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