Rufous-tailed Jacamar Identification Guide

Key Field Marks

• Slender, long-tailed bird with a notably long, thin, straight bill, giving it a distinctive silhouette often compared to an oversized hummingbird or a giant bee-eater.
• Upperparts are brilliantly iridescent, shining metallic green to coppery-bronze depending on the light.
• Underparts and much of the tail are rich rufous-orange, a key field mark reflected in the species' name.
• Throat patch differs by sex: males show a clean white throat patch, while females show a buffy or pale cinnamon throat patch instead of white.

Separating It From Similar Species

• Green-tailed Jacamar and other jacamar species show a green rather than rufous tail, making tail color a quick way to separate them from Rufous-tailed Jacamar.
• White-chinned Jacamar and other relatives differ in throat color and the extent of rufous versus green in the plumage; careful attention to tail color and throat patch color resolves most confusion.
• The combination of a very long thin bill, iridescent green upperparts, and an extensively rufous tail and underparts is diagnostic within most of its range.

Where and When to Look

• Found from Mexico south through Central America and into much of northern and central South America, including the Amazon basin.
• Frequents forest edges, clearings, secondary growth, riverbanks, and gaps rather than deep, unbroken forest interior.
• Non-migratory resident throughout its range; most easily seen by scanning open perches along trails, streams, and clearings.

Voice and Behavior

• Vocalizations include thin, high-pitched, sharp "peek" or "pseep" calls, along with occasional longer, slightly trilling or whistled song phrases.
• Characteristically perches upright and motionless on an exposed branch, then sallies out in fast, acrobatic flight to snatch flying insects, especially butterflies and dragonflies, from the air.
• After capturing prey, typically returns to a perch and beats the insect repeatedly against the branch to remove wings and subdue it before swallowing.
• Nests in burrows excavated into earthen banks or termite mounds.