The paradise jacamar (Galbula dea) is a species of bird in the family Galbulidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Taxonomy and systematics Early in the 20th century the paradise jacamar was placed in the monotypic genus Urogalba, but it has been in Galbula since the middle of the century. It has four subspecies, the nominate Galbula dea dea, G. d. amazonum, G. d. brunneiceps, and G. d. phainopepla. It is possible that they are actually clinal variations of one species. Description The paradise jacamar is long and weighs . Both sexes of the nominate have a dark brown crown and are glossy black on the rest of the upper parts. They have a white throat and upper breast; the rest of the underparts are blackish. The other subspecies differ in a few ways. G. d. amazonums crown is lighter and the white throat more extensive, and G. d. phainopepla is similar to it. G. d. brunneicepss crown is lighter and its upper parts have a bronzy greenish sheen. Distribution and habitat The paradise jacamar is found throughout most of the Amazon Basin. The subspecies are distributed thus: G. d. dea: from the upper Orinoco River in southern Venezuela east through the Guianas and in Brazil north of the Amazon River. G. d. amazonum: north central Brazil south to northern Mato Grosso state and northern Bolivia. G. d. brunneiceps: southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador and Peru, and western Brazil south of the Amazon and west of the Negro River. G. d. phainopepla: western Brazil south of the Amazon and west of the Madeira River. The paradise jacamar mostly inhabits terra firme, várzea, and savanna forests, both primary and secondary. It is also found in dry forest and gallery forest. It is most often found along edges or in open areas such as clearings and treefalls, and rarely in the forest interior. Unusually for a jacamar, it is mostly seen in the canopy rather than the mid level. It is most often found below of elevation but locally occurs up to . Behavior Feeding The paradise jacamar's diet is primarily Lepidoptera, Odonata, Diptera, and Hymenoptera, but it also takes other flying insects. It perches on exposed branches by itself, in pairs, or in small groups and sallies out to catch its prey. It sometimes joins mixed-species foraging flocks in the canopy. Breeding A pair