Paradise Jacamar

Galbula dea

Iridescent blue-black with blue-green wings, white throat. Perches motionless, then explodes after butterflies. Bill-first.

Population: Not numerically quantified by IUCN; global population trend is decreasing, number of mature individuals unknown, species described as "fairly common" (IUCN assessment) / "rare to common across its range" (other sources)
Habitat: Upper canopy of terra firme, várzea, savanna, dry, and gallery forests (primary and secondary), favoring edges, clearings, and treefalls rather than the mid-story preferred by most other jacamars; occurs below 500 m, occasionally to 1,100 m
Fun fact: First described by Linnaeus in 1758 and originally classified among the kingfishers, the Paradise Jacamar's species epithet "dea" is Latin for "goddess," and unlike most jacamars it habitually perches conspicuously in the open canopy rather than the shaded mid-story.
Range: Amazon Basin and northern South America: Venezuela, the Guianas (Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana), Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil (four subspecies partition this range: G. d. dea in southern Venezuela/north of the Amazon, G. d. amazonum in central Brazil/northern Bolivia, G. d. brunneiceps from SE Colombia through Ecuador/Peru/western Brazil, G. d. phainopepla in western Brazil south of the Amazon)
Diet: Aerial insects taken on the wing (sallying from exposed perches), chiefly butterflies (Lepidoptera), dragonflies (Odonata), true flies (Diptera), and wasps (Hymenoptera)
Size: 0.3 m

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