Thursday, October 2, 2014

Creature Feature #348: Jacamar

Jacamar are small, brightly coloured birds of South and Central America. His diet is insectivorous. He sits and waits, with beak raised, until a butterfly, dragonfly or moth flutters past, then he snatches it on the wing. It is then beaten against a branch before being eaten. There are eighteen species, spread across five genera. The Rufous-tailed is the most common. Two to four eggs are laid in a burrow or a termite mound. Jacamar are generally considered to be monogamous, and some may engage in co-operative breeding, with several adults sharing the duties. Chicks hatch covered in down.

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