Barred Puffbird

The barred puffbird is about 22 cm (8.7 in) long and weighs about 63 g (2.2 oz). Its crown is blackish with dark rufous bars. The upper nape is black, the lower nape yellowish red, and the upper mantle black. The rest of the upperparts and the wings are dark chestnut with narrow black bands. The tail is long, narrow, and chestnut with narrow black bands. The chin is whitish. The face and underparts are pale rufous with fine blackish bars except in the center of the belly. The bill is grayish yellow to blackish, the eye creamy yellow, and the feet greenish gray. The "fulvidus" morph is a deeper rufous overall.

The barred puffbird is resident from central Panama into northern Colombia and through western Colombia into western Ecuador. It inhabits the lower levels of several semi-open landscapes including the borders of humid and wet forest, streamside vegetation, clearings with scattered trees, and the edges of forest trails. In Ecuador it has regularly been recorded perched on wires in agricultural areas. In elevation it is usually found up to 900 m (3,000 ft) but has been recorded locally in the Mindo, Ecuador region as high as 1,675 m (5,500 ft) and once at 1,550 m (5,100 ft) in Colombia.

The barred puffbird's foraging behavior has not been documented; other puffbirds typically hunt by sallying from a perch. Its diet includes large insects of several orders and small lizards.