Monasa


Monasa is a genus of puffbird in the Bucconidae family.
The genus was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Vieillot in 1816 with the black nunbird as the type species. The generic name is from the Ancient Greek monas meaning "solitary".
The genus contains four species:
ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Monasa atraBlack nunbirdNorth-central South America in the Guianas of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana including the Guiana Shield; also eastern and southeastern Venezuela in the eastern Orinoco River Basin, and the Amazon Basin of northeast Brazil in the north-central and northeast
Monasa flavirostrisYellow-billed nunbirdBolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru
Monasa morphoeusWhite-fronted nunbirdBrazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela; in southern Central America in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama
Monasa nigrifronsBlack-fronted nunbirdBolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru