About Malacoptila mystacalis (Lafresnaye, 1850)
The moustached puffbird (Malacoptila mystacalis) is 20 to 23 cm (7.9 to 9.1 in) long and weighs 47 to 50 g (1.7 to 1.8 oz). Unlike most puffbird species, the male and female moustached puffbird have different plumages. Both sexes have bristles around the base of their large bill, plus white "whiskers" that are actually feather tufts. The adult male is drab brown on its upperparts, with white to buffy spots on the back and wing coverts. Its tail is brown with small buffy markings. Its lores and a half ring behind the eye are white. The chin, throat, and breast are rufous, with indistinct darker streaks on the breast. The belly is white, and the flanks are dull brown with whitish bars and streaks. The male's bill is black, its eye is red, and its feet are silvery bluish. The adult female is grayer on the upperparts with heavier buff markings, and has a paler breast with heavier streaks. Immature birds are darker with less obvious light markings, and have less rufous coloration on the breast. The moustached puffbird is distributed in the Andes, from northern and northwestern Venezuela through Colombia, and extends slightly into northern Ecuador. It primarily lives in the undergrowth of humid and wet forests, but it also occurs along forest edges and in open woodland. It usually stays within 6 m (20 ft) of the ground. Its elevation range is from 350 to 2,100 m (1,100 to 6,900 ft).
