The Chestnut-capped Puffbird is marked by a chestnut crown, a pale eyebrow, and a white stripe across its dark face. It waits quietly in waterside thickets before darting out for prey.
The crown is chestnut. A long, narrow pale eyebrow and a broad white cheek stripe divide the dark facial patch. The back is dark brown, while the underside is buff with fine dark bars.
It lives in humid lowland and flooded forests, often near rivers and other water. It perches still in the undergrowth, then darts out to catch arthropods; the detailed diet is not well known.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.