ABSTRACT
Puffbirds are a Neotropical group of birds with large heads, long rictal bristles, small legs, zygodactylous feet, and puffy plumage. With strong bills armed with a formidable hook, often with the tip of the maxilla forked such that the mandible fits cleanly within this hook, puffbirds sally out from branches to snag large invertebrates and small vertebrates. Puffbirds likely follow a Complex Basic Strategy, but little literature exists on puffbird molts. In the experience, the juvenile plumage is often nearly identical to the definitive basic plumage, except in some cases where reduced feather markings or soft part colors are distinct. Preformative molts are probably typically partial resulting in a mix of juvenile and formative ss covs. During definitive prebasic molts, at least some puffbirds replace pp and ss in multiple molt series. Many puffbirds nest in burrows dug into termite mounds in trees, whereas others burrow into the ground.
