Step into the vibrant world of the Ramphastidae family, home to unique and captivating toucans. These birds and their smaller relatives, the aracaris and toucanets, are renowned for their striking colours and unmistakably large bills.
They are a living testament to tropical regions’ rich diversity and energy, their lively calls resonating through the dense, steamy rainforests of Central and South America.
Toucans are masterful forest dwellers, adept at navigating their lush, green homes. They are not long-distance travellers, preferring to stay within their familiar territories. Ranging in size from 29 to 63 cm, they sport small wings and sturdy, compact legs. Interestingly, most toucans do not exhibit any sexual dimorphism in their colouration.
Unique features of their anatomy are the ability to snap their tails forward until they touch the heads, resulting in the rear three vertebrae being fused and attached to the spine by ball and socket joints. This is the posture in which they sleep. Toucans are skilled at creating nests using natural tree openings or holes made by other animals.
Toucans’ bills, despite their size, are surprisingly lightweight, thanks to their bone struts being filled with spongy tissue. These impressive bills serve crucial purposes, allowing toucans to reach into tree holes and access food, particularly fruit, that is out of reach for other birds. Interestingly, female toucans’ bills are usually smaller. However, the toucan bill has limited use as an excavation tool, highlighting the bird’s unique feeding strategy.
After hatching, Toucan chicks emerge from their eggs without any down feathers. Toucans are known to be resident breeders and do not migrate. They usually live in pairs or small flocks. Scientists have hypothesised that Toucans fence with their bills and wrestle to establish dominance hierarchies.
The Ramphastidae family comprises five genera and over 40 species, each with a unique charm. Join us on a fascinating journey into the heart of tropical avian biodiversity.
1. Genus Andigena
Four species of Andigena mountain-toucans are found in humid highland forests along the Andes Mountain range in South America, ranging from Bolivia to Venezuela. These toucans are highly coveted due to their secretive behaviour and stunning colours. They are medium-sized birds with olive-brown upperparts, black crowns, yellow rumps, blue-grey underparts, and red vents.
1.1. Black-billed Mountain-Toucan (Andigena nigrirostris)
Black-billed Mountain-Toucan typically ranges from 48 to 51 cm and weighs 335 to 367 g. Their calls are a rattling or bill-clacking sound and are drawn out.
Description: Black-billed Mountain-Toucan are easily recognisable among other toucans because of their black bills. They have bronzy upperparts, pale-yellow rumps, dark slate tails with chestnut tips of central 2-3 rectrices, white faces and throats that blend into blue on the breasts, chestnut thighs, and red under-tail coverts. Their facial skin is pale blue before the eye and yellow or orange behind. Their eyes are brown-red.
Habitat: Black-billed Mountain-Toucan can be found in various habitats, including moist cloud forests, subtropical to temperate montane forests, thickets, bogs, cultivated areas adjacent to forests, and open areas with scattered fruit trees.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela
1.2. Grey-breasted Mountain-Toucan (Andigena hypoglauca)
Grey-breasted Mountain-Toucan typically ranges from 41 to 48 cm and weighs 244 to 370 g. They make bill-snapping and occasional bill-whacking sounds. Their songs have low notes.
Description: Grey-breasted Mountain-Toucan have black caps and faces, grey-blue hindnecks, green-tinged brown backs, and grey-blue to grey underparts. They also have bright yellow rumps and blackish to brown-black tails with 2–3 central pairs of feathers, chestnut-tipped. The sides and flanks are pale grey-blue, the thighs are chestnut, and the undertail coverts are red. Their bills have black bands near the bases on yellow-green backgrounds and red near the tips. Their facial skins are mostly blue, with some black around the brown eyes.
Habitat: They are found in higher elevations than other toucans in temperate montane forests, often in cloud forests, stunted trees at tree-line, edges and second growth.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC)
Distribution: Found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
1.3. Hooded Mountain-Toucan (Andigena cucullata)
Hooded Mountain-Toucan typically ranges from 48 to 50 cm and can weigh 222 to 380 g. Their songs are generally loud and slow.
Description: Hooded Mountain-Toucans are birds with mostly yellow bills with black tips and small black spots near the bases. They have sooty blue heads with pale blue skin rings around their eyes and blue collars on their hindnecks. Their upper bodies are chestnut, which turns black towards the back, and they have yellow rumps. Their underbodies are dark blue-grey, with rusty thighs and red undertail coverts.
Habitat: They are typically found in wet, temperate regions and at the uppermost edge of subtropical areas. They are often located at higher altitudes than most other toucans.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC)
Distribution: Hooded Mountain-Toucan are generally shy residents of epiphyte-laden cloud forests on the east side of the high Andes in southeast Peru and northwest Bolivia.
1.4. Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan (Andigena laminirostris)
Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan typically range in size from 46 to 51 cm and weigh between 275 and 355 g. Their calls consist of a series of loud and short notes. These calls are mostly initiated by bill rattles and clicks, which can be heard from quite a distance.
Description: Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan have large bills that split into two distinct halves. The bases of their bills are red, while the front halves are black. These toucans have unique features on their bills: ivory patches on the upper mandibles near the base. Their crowns are black with yellow facial skin patches in front of their eyes and blue around them. Their eyes are brown-red. They have blue feathers from their chins to their lower bellies and yellow patches on their rump. Their thighs are brownish-maroon, and they have red vents. Their upper bodies combine brown and green, except for pale yellow rumps. Their tails are blackish with 2-3 pairs of rectrices tipped with chestnut.
Habitat: They inhabit humid forests along the edges of the temperate forests on the lateral slope of the Andes Mountains. Their habitats are moist mountain forests distinguished by epiphytes, mosses, and bromeliads. Some parts of the forest have also been selectively logged.
Conservation: Listed as Near Threatened (NT), the main causes are the ongoing deforestation caused by logging, cattle grazing, mining, and agriculture.
Distribution: Plate-billed Mountain Toucan are found on the west slope of Ecuador and in extreme southern Colombia.
2. Genus Aulacorhynchus
These are known as green toucanets and are all relatively small toucans. The sexes are alike, and they are typically seen in small groups,
2.1. Blue-banded Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus coeruleicinctis)
Blue-banded Toucanets typically range in size from 40 to 44 cm and have a weight range of 173 to 257 g. Their songs are a series of barking sounds.
Description: Blue-banded Toucanets have predominantly green bodies, with blue band encircling their chests. Their upper bodies are slightly darker shades of green. They have white eyebrows and white chins. Their vents are red, and their tail tips are also marked with red. Their eyes are yellow to white, and the orbital skins around their eyes are dark grey.
Habitat: Blue-banded Toucanets live in the subtropical forests, from the humid cloud forests to the temperate forests.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC)
Distribution: Blue-banded Toucanets are primarily located on the eastern slope of the Andes, ranging from central Peru south to Bolivia.
2.2. Chestnut-tipped Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus derbianus)
Chestnut-tipped Toucanets typically range in size from 33 to 41 cm and weigh 141 to 262 g. Their song is often a long series of guttural calls.
Description: Chestnut-tipped Toucanets are birds with predominantly green feathers. Their tails are green with wider chestnut tips at the end, which is how they got their name. Their bills are deep red and black and have grooves on the maxilla with vertical white lines at their base, although some individuals have an all-black bill. The napes of their necks are bluish, and there is blue under and behind their brown-red orbital area.
Habitat: Chestnut-tipped Toucanets inhabit subtropical montane cloud forests and tropical forests.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC)
Distribution: Chestnut-tipped Toucanets are found along the eastern slope of the Andes, stretching from southern Colombia to western Bolivia.
2.3. Crimson-rumped Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus haematopygus)
Crimson-rumped Toucanets typically range from 40 to 45 cm and weigh 141 to 200 g. Their song is often a series of variable, gruff, barking notes.
Description: Crimson-rumped Toucanets are primarily green in colour with blue on their breasts. They have crimson rumps, green tails with chestnut-coloured tips, and flattened brown-red and black bills with bases that create side ridges. Additionally, their bills have white basal lines that widen ventrally and are widest at the lower base of their mandibles.
Habitat: Crimson-rumped Toucanets primarily inhabit montane evergreen forests ranging from the lowlands to the montane zone. Additionally, they can be found in semi-open landscapes such as forest edges, secondary forests, and isolated fruit trees in pastures and gardens.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Crimson-rumped Toucanets can be found in Ecuador, northwestern Colombia, and western Venezuela.
2.4. Groove-billed Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus sulcatus)
Groove-billed Toucanets typically range in size from 33 to 37 cm and have a weight range of 130 to 200 g. Calls are barking-growling notes or croaks.
Description: Groove-billed Toucanets are mostly green throughout their body, with grooved bills usually wine-red to brown-red, with diagonal black stripes on their mandibles. These bills also have vertical white stripes at their bases. These birds are blue underneath the eyes, with grey skin around the eyes, and have light-coloured chins. There are subspecies of these birds called the Yellow-billed Toucanets, which have mainly yellow on their upper mandibles.
Habitat: Groove-billed Toucanets inhabit humid montane forests ranging from the upper tropical to the edge of the temperate forest. They can also be found in semi-open landscapes, including second-growth, forest edges, nearby isolated trees, and gardens. However, they do not cross sizable open areas.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Groove-billed Toucanets are found in northeastern Colombia and eastward across northern Venezuela.
2.5. Northern Emerald Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus prasinus)
Northern Emerald Toucanets typically range from 30 to 37 cm and weigh 150 to 240 g. Their songs are characterised by repeated high doglike barking, with more emphatic notes thrown in now and again. This goes on for minutes sometimes.
Description: Northern Emerald Toucanets are mainly emerald-green but lighter below than above, with chestnut undertail coverts and tips to the retices. Their crowns have bronze tinges. Their eyes are dark brown, surrounded by even darker bare skin. Their lower faces and throat are white, and their flanks are bright yellow-green to green-yellow. They have a long, laterally compressed bill, mostly black but with a yellow maxilla.
Each subspecies can be distinguished by differences in their bills and the colouration around them. Some of the subspecies may even be considered as distinct species. Blue-throated Toucanets have yellowish-olive upper mandibles, black lower mandibles, white at the base of the bills, and blue throats. Violet-throated Toucanets have black bills, white at the base of the bills, and violet chins.
Habitat: Northern Emerald-Toucanets live in humid montane forests, forest edges, plantations, and clearings with scattered trees.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: They are found in southern Mexico, south to eastern Panama, and adjacent Colombia.
2.5.1. Emerald Toucanet (Blue Throated) (Aulacorhynchus prasinus caeruleogularis)
Emerald (Blue-throated) Toucanet typically range in size from 29 to 37 cm and have a weight range of 120 to 185 g.
Habitat: EmeraldToucanets live in humid montane forests, forest edges, plantations, and clearings with scattered trees.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Emerald Toucanets are found in Costa Rica and Panama and slightly into Colombia.
2.6. Southern Emerald Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus albivitta)
Southern Emerald Toucanets typically range in size from 30 to 37 cm and have a weight range of 160 to 230 g. Their calls are described as a rapid series of short notes.
Description: Southern Emerald Toucanets have emerald green plumage and are slightly darker on their upper bodies. They have rufous vents and green to blue tails with rufous tips. Their throat colour varies depending on their region, ranging from white to pale grey, blue, or black. Their bills are mostly black and yellow, with the extent of the yellow maxilla differing based on the geographic location.
Habitat: Southern Emerald Toucanets inhabit humid montane forests, forest edges, plantations, and clearings with sparse trees. They also inhabit lowland evergreen forests.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Southern Emerald Toucanets are found in the Northeastern regions of South America.
2.6.1. Andean Toucanet (A. a. albivitta)
Distribution: Southern in the Andes mountains of northwestern Venezuela, the Eastern Andes of Colombia, and the eastern Andes of northern and central Ecuador.
2.6.2. Grey-throated Toucanet (A. a. griseigularis)
Distribution: Grey-throated Toucanets are found in the northern part of the Western Andes and the western slope of the Central Andes of Colombia.
2.6.3. Santa Marta Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus lautus)
Distribution: Santa Marta Toucanets are found in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta of Northern Colombia.
2.7. Black-throated Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus atrogularis)
Black-throated Toucanets typically range from 33 to 41 cm and weigh 117 to 160 g.
Description: Black-throated Toucanets havegreen plumage over most of their bodies, a little darker on their upper bodies. They have yellow and black bills, with the maxima being yellow. The base of their bills has white edges, and their throats are black. Their under tails are chestnut.
Habitat: Black-throated Toucanets can be found in humid montane forests, forest edges, and plantations, as well as clearings with sparse trees. It also inhabits lowland evergreen forests.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Black-throated Toucanets occur at lower elevations in southern Peru, western Brazil, and northern Bolivia.
2.8. Yellow-browed Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus huallagae)
Yellow-browed Toucanets typically range from 38 to 44 cm and weigh 250 to 280 g. Songs are characterised by 20 to 30 krik notes, which sound like frog calls. They are delivered at a rate of slightly more than one note per second. These toucanets are the least known and rarely seen of all toucanets.
Description: Yellow-browed Toucanets are birds with green feathers, red rumps, and yellow undertail coverts. Although they have yellow eyebrows, they are not very noticeable. They also have chestnut tips on their inner rectrices and pale blue bands across their lower breasts. Their bills are bluish-grey, varying to light grey toward their tips, and have narrow white borders at their base.
Similar to Blue-banded Toucanets. Yellow-browed Toucanets have white at the base of their bills; Blue-banded Toucanets do not.
Habitat: Yellow-browed Toucanets occur in humid montane forests, particularly areas with Clusia trees.
Conservation: Listed as Near Threatened (NT) due to its dependence on humid montane forests, the species is potentially at risk of habitat destruction and degradation.
Distribution: Yellow-browed Toucanets are found in small numbers in specific areas of north-central Peru.
3. Genus Pterglossus
Pterglossus are also known as Aracari. They have bright plumage and large, contrasting, patterned bills, which often help birders identify each species.
3.1. Black-necked Aracari (Pteroglossus aracari)
Black-necked Aracaris typically range from 43 to 46 cm and weigh 177 to 325 g. Songs are a common “tsee-eet” to “sneet” call, and rattled calls are also brought about by vocal or bill-snapping.
Description: Black-necked Aracaris have black heads and necks. Their upper bodies are green, and their thighs and tails have red rumps. Their lower bodies are yellow with wide red stripes around their bellies. Their upper mandibles are ivory, and their lower mandibles are black.
Habitat: Black-necked Aracaris occur in lowland wet forests and a wide variety of semi-open landscapes, including edges and clearings in wet and sand-ridge forests, secondary forests, woodlands, and plantations of fruit trees like papaya.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Black-necked Aracari birds are found in northeastern South America, ranging from the Rio Madeira to the Rio Maranhão. They are also present in Mato Grosso, Goiás, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Minas Gerais, and Espírito Santo.
3.2. Chestnut-eared Aracari (Pteroglossus castanotis)
Chestnut-eared Aracaris typically ranges from 43 to 47 cm and weighs 220 to 310 g. Songs are an irregular series of squeals.
Description: Chestnut-eared Aracaris have black heads with brown to chestnut on the sides of their heads, lower napes, and upper throats. Dark green upper bodies and tails. They have yellow undersides, broad red rings circling their bellies, and red rumps. Their thighs are cinnamon-coloured. They have broad-based bills with the maxilla having black stripes on the culmen, triangles of black narrowing toward the tips, orange-yellow between them, and black and ivory markings on the edge that look like teeth.
Habitat: Chestnut-eared Aracaris inhabits landscapes near standing or flowing water, such as wet forests by lakes and rivers, forest islands in rivers, and swamp and gallery forests. They also occur at edges, clearings, and disturbed areas of drier forests. Chestnut-eared Aracari are also found in dense bamboo, canebrakes, cerrado, and coffee plantations.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Chestnut-eared Aracaris are Amazon Basin birds in southern and eastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, southeastern Peru, and east Brazil along the Amazon.
3.3. Collared Aracari (Pteroglossus torquatus)
Collared Aracaris typically ranges from 38 to 41 cm and weighs 175 to 250 g. Songs have high, sharp, squeaky notes and can sometimes be two-parted.
Description: Collared Aracaris are small, slender toucans. Their bills have narrow white lines at the bases and are buffy white at the tips, which darkens to dull reddish brown at their bases. Their maxillae are black and have black and yellowish-white notches. Their mandibles are also black. Their plumage is primarily black with rufous bands across their napes and bright red lower backs, rumps, and upper tail coverts. Yellow underparts with red wash on breasts. They have a central black spot on their breasts and narrow red-black bands across their bellies. Cinnamon or rufous thighs. Their bare facial skin is red, and they have yellow eyes.
Habitat: Collared Aracaris occupy lowland evergreen forests and forest edges, advanced secondary forests, coffee, cacao, and fruit plantations.
Distribution: They are foundfrom Mexico south through Central America to just into Colombia, but not on the Yucatán Peninsula.
3.4. Curl-crested Aracari (Pteroglossus beauharnaesii)
Curl-crested Aracaris typically range in size from 42 to 46 cm and have a weight range of 164 to 280 g. Songs have variable, deep notes, even grunting notes, in series, faster or slower, some accented with bill-snapping.
Description: Curl-crested Aracaris must be one of the strangest-looking species I have seen. Their crests are quite spectacular. They have specially modified head feathers that look like curly black plastic. They have white faces with black freckles. Blue facial skin rings around their dark eyes. Their bills are relatively short. The lower mandible of the bird is white, while the upper mandible is ivory-coloured; both have an orange tip. The maxilla has an orange culmen and wider maroon stripes along their lower parts at the base. Between them, the maxilla are bluish or green. The bird’s tomium has indistinct ivory-coloured “teeth”.
Habitat: Curl-crested Aracaris are found in lowland wet for
Distribution: Curl-crested Aracaris are found south of the Amazon River. Its range extends from northern Peru and east into western Brazil. The range extends south from Peru into north and central Bolivia and Brazil.
3.5. Fiery-billed Aracari (Pteroglossus frantzii)
Fiery-billed Aracaris are, on average, 45 cm in size and weigh between 225 and 280 g. Their calls consist of high-pitched and stretched notes.
Description: Fiery-necked Aracaris have black heads and necks and dark green upper parts. They have yellow-white chests and bellies, with a broad red band edged with black across their belly and a black spot on their breasts. Their bills have a lower black mandible and an upper mandible that starts green-yellow at the base and changes to orange. Their basal lines are ivory, and they have black culmen with fine tomial “teeth” that are not very conspicuous. Additionally, they have red orbital-facial skin.
Similar to Pale-billed Aracari. Fiery-billed Aracaris have red belts; Pale-Mandibled Aracaris have black belts.
Habitat: Fiery-necked Aracaris inhabit wet lowland forests, edges, cleared areas in forests, and secondary forests.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Fiery-necked Aracaris are found from Costa Rica’s coast south into Panama.
3.6. Green Aracari (Pteroglossus viridis)
Green Aracaris typically range in size from 30 to 39 cm and weigh 110 to 162 g. Calls have rattling notes and soft chattering, purring and whining notes.
Description: Green Aracaris are small toucans with dark green upper bodies, red rumps, blackheads, and necks, along with light yellow underbodies. Female heads are reddish-brown. Their bills are black below, yellow on top, and have a red stripe in the middle. They have ivory-coloured “teeth” markings on their bills. Their facial skin is blue around the eyes and scarlet behind them.
Habitat: Green Aracaris are found in lowland forests, including sand-ridge forests, riverine forests in savanna country, tall second-growth forests, some tree plantations, and fruiting trees isolated from but near forests.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Green Aracaris are found in eastern Venezuela, east through the Guianas and south to northern Brazil.
3.7. Ivory-billed Aracari (Pteroglossus azara)
Ivory-billed Aracaris typically range in size from 36 to 45 cm and weigh 120 to 160 g. Calls are mainly a series of 2-6 wailing notes, voiced rattles, grunt-like contact notes, and purr-like notes.
Description: Ivory-billed Aracaris have distinct features. They have ivory-coloured bills, black caps, chestnut heads, and throats with maroon napes and upper necks. They also have black lines at their lower throats. The upper parts of their bodies are dark green, while their rumps are red. Their bellies are yellow with a black band above, and they have red chests. Female birds have shorter bills, dark brown caps, and narrower lines of black at their lower throats.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Ivory-billed are found in Western Brazil, Eastern Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and Northern Argentina.
3.8. Lettered Aracari (Pteroglossus inscriptus)
Lettered Aracaris typically range in size from 33 to 35.5 cm and have a weight range of 100 to 130 g. Calls are often long-continued series of guttural notes.
Description: Lettered Aracaris are birds with black heads, except for bare blue, violet-grey, and red skin around their eyes. Females of these species have chestnut colouring on the sides of their faces, necks, and throats. Their upper parts are green, except for red rumps, while their underparts are yellow. The bills of one subspecies have plain yellowish upper mandibles and dark lower mandibles. Another subspecies has mainly yellow bills with dark “teeth”, and their lower mandibles have some black near the base.
Habitat. Lettered Aracaris inhabits various lowland evergreen forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, swamps, and forests that were heavily degraded in the past.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Lettered Aracaris are found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
3.9. Many-banded Aracari (Pteroglossus pluricinctus)
Many-banded Aracari typically range in size from 43 to 46 cm and have a weight range of 215 to 302 g. Calls are often high-pitched, intermittent notes.
Description. Many-banded Aracaris are large toucans with black heads and necks, green and blue facial skin around the white eyes, dark green upper bodies, and red rumps. They have yellow lower bodies with two black bands. Their bills have red tips and lower black mandibles, and their maxillae are orange-yellow with broad black culmen and black at the base.
Habitat: They inhabit primarily low but not wet primary forests and, to a lesser degree, gallery forests.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Many-banded Aracari are found in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil.
3.10. Pale-mandibled Aracari (Pteroglossus erythropygius)
Pale-mandibled Aracaris typically range in size from 40.5 to 43 cm and weigh 175 to 250 g.
Description: Pale-billed Aracaris are small, slender toucans. Their bills have narrow vertical white lines at the bases. Their maxillae are creamy yellow with black stripes along the lower edges. At the same time, their mandibles are creamy yellow with black tips. Their plumages are primarily glossy dark green, bright red lower backs, and rumps; yellow underparts with red wash on breasts; black central spots on their breasts; and narrow red-black bands across their bellies. They have cinnamon or rufous thighs. Their bare facial skins are red, and they have yellow eyes.
Similar to Fiery-billed Aracari. Fiery-billed Aracaris have red belts; Pale-Mandibled Aracaris have black belts.
Habitat: Pale-billed Aracaris inhabit the interior and edges of evergreen primary and mature secondary forests and coffee, cacao, and fruit plantations.
Distribution: Pale-billed Aracaris are found in northwestern Ecuador’s Esmeraldas Province south into Peru.
3.11. Red-necked Aracari (Pteroglossus bitorquatus)
Red-necked Aracaris range in size from 36 to 40 cm and weigh 112 to 171 g. Calls are often high-pitched notes, but they have a variety of vocalisations.
Description: Red-necked Aracaris are found in various forest types, including lowland and hilly moist tropical forests, gallery forests, dense bamboo and tree growth alongside streams and tall secondary forests.
Habitat: Red-necked Aracaris are found in various forest types, from the lowlands to hilly terrain. They primarily inhabit lowlands and hilly, moist tropical, well-drained, and gallery forests. They are also found in dense bamboo and tree growth alongside streams and tall secondary forests.
Conservation. Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Red-necked Aracaris are found in northeastern Brazil, south of the Amazon, and as far south as northeast Bolivia.
3.12. Saffron Toucanet (Pteroglossus bitorquatus)
Saffron Toucanets typically range from 35 to 39 cm and weigh 129 to 168 g. Calls are often a sequence of high-pitched notes that increase in tempo.
Description: Saffron Toucanets have mostly saffron-yellow colour plumage. Their wings and tails are olive green. Their rumps, ocular skins and patches on the basal half of the otherwise greenish-horn bills are red. Their eyes are pale yellowish. Females are similar to males but have more olive, less gold colouration, and shorter bills.
Habitat: Saffron Toucanet can mostly be found in moist subtropical forests, generally on slopes and beside streams, also on edges, and in secondary and selectively logged forests.
Conservation: Listed as Near Threatened (NT). This is mainly because it is threatened by habitat loss, hunting, and trapping for the illegal cagebird trade.
Distribution: Saffron Toucanet occurs in southeast Brazil, east Paraguay and northern Argentina.
4. Genus Ramphastos
These toucans all have black wings, tails, and thighs. They mainly eat fruit but will eat insects and small prey. These toucans are larger than the toucanets.
4.1. Channel-billed Toucan (Ramphastos vitellinus)
Channel-billed Toucans average 46 cm in length and weigh 300 to 430 g. Calls are often described as froglike croaks.
Description: Channel-billed Toucan have mainly black upper body plumage with yellow rumps. Their nape and hoods are also black. Their faces, chins and chests are white with yellow washes running down the middle. This is bordered at the bottom with red bands. Their bellies are black. The skin around their eyes, as well as their feet, are blue. Their bills are mainly black or reddish-brown. The bases of their lower mandibles are blue and blue-yellow for the upper mandible.
Like the White-throated Toucan, Channel-billed Toucans are almost identical, but the White-throated Toucans have proportionally larger bills.
Habitat: Channel-billed Toucans thrive in forested lowlands and woodland, most commonly near water. They prefer humid regions but locally extend into drier areas.
Distribution: Channel-billed Toucans are found in Venezuela, the Guianas, northern Brazil, and Trinidad.
4.2. Black-mandibled Toucan (Ramphastos ambiguus)
Black-mandibled Toucans are larger, typically 47 to 61 cm in size and 584 to 746 g in weight. Their calls are primarily a series of loud, far-carrying yelps.
Description: Black-mandibled Toucans are mostly black but with maroon tints on their hindnecks and upper backs. Their faces, throats, and upper breasts are yellow, with white and crimson bands below them. Their vents and undertail coverts are red. Their bills are diagonally bicoloured, yellow on top and maroon on the bottom.
Similar to the Chestnut-mandibled Toucan, the ranges of the Chestnut-mandibled Toucan and the Black-mandibled Toucan do not overlap. They used to be considered the same species.
Habitat: Black-mandibled Toucans are found in the interior of humid primary montane forests but also occur at the edges, in clearings, and older secondary forests.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Black-mandibled Toucan are found in southwestern Colombia and south-central Peru.
4.3. Chestnut-mandibled Toucan (Ramphastos swainsonii)
Chestnut-mandibled Toucan are larger and typically range from 47 to 61 cm, with a weight range of 584 to 746 g. Calls are primarily a series of loud, far-carrying yelps.
Description: Chestnut-mandibled Toucan are mostly black but have maroon tints on their hindnecks and upper backs. Their faces, throats, and upper breasts are brightly yellow, with white and crimson bands below the breast. Their vents and undertail coverts are bright shades of red. Their bills are diagonally bicoloured, yellow on top and chestnut on the bottom.
Similar to Black-mandibled Toucan. The range of Chestnut-mandibled Toucan and Black-mandibled Toucan do not overlap. They used to be considered the same species.
Habitat: They are usually found in forests and parks with plenty of trees, but avoid dry forests and open areas. They can also be seen in fruit tree plantations bordering forests.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Chestnut-mandibled Toucans are found in southeastern Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, western Colombia, and southwestern Ecuador.
4.4. Choco Toucan (Ramphastos brevis)
Choco Toucans typically range in size from 46 to 48.5 cm and weigh 365 to 482 g. Their calls are primarily a series of croaks.
Description: Choco Toucans are mostly black but have maroon tints on the hindnecks and upper backs. Their faces, throats, and upper breasts are brightly yellow with red bands below the breast. Their vents and undertail coverts are bright shades of red, and the upper tail coverts are white. Their bills are diagonally bi-coloured, yellow on top and chestnut on the bottom, sometimes with yellow tips. They have bare yellow-green to olive-green skin surrounding their eyes.
Similar to Chestnut-mandibled Toucans. Choco Toucans are smaller than the Chestnut-mandibled Toucan and have a different call.
Habitat: Choco Toucans mostly inhabit forests on the lower Andean slopes. They also occur in pastures and plantations with fruiting trees adjacent to forests.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Choco Toucans are restricted to the humid Chocó region from northwestern Colombia to southwestern Ecuador.
4.5. Keel-billed Toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus)
Keel-billed Toucan are larger and typically range from 42 to 45 cm, weighing 380 to 500 g. Calls are primarily single notes, which are shrill, frog-like sounds that they repeat over and over in a series of about five to seven notes.
Description: Keel-billed Toucan have almost all black plumage. They have red rumps with white upper tail coverts. They have yellow bibs, red collar edgings, red-tipped tails, and blue feet. Their bills are mainly green with red tips and orange sides.
Habitats: They inhabit humid lowland forests, primarily in the canopy. They also inhabit open rainforests, second-growth woodlands, and some plantations. In
In Central America, they are mainly found on the wetter Caribbean side. They usually forage in forest edges, particularly disturbed habitats.
Conservation: Listed as Near Threatened (NT). These species are threatened by habitat loss, hunting for food, and the pet trade, as it prefers undisturbed forests.
Distribution: The Keel-billed Toucan ranges from southern Mexico through Central America to northern Colombia and extreme north-western Venezuela.
4.6. Red-breasted Toucan also Green-billed Toucan (Ramphastos dicolorus)
Red-breasted Toucans are the smallest members of the genus Ramphastos. They typically range in size from 42 to 48 cm and weigh 265 to 400 g. Calls are a long series of noisy, high-pitched honking sounds.
Description: Red-breasted Toucans are black from forehead to tail except for red upper tail coverts. They have white bibs with large central orange areas. Their chests are red, and their legs are blue. Their faces are yellow with bare red, blue, and yellow-green skin around their eyes. Their bills have broad black bases, mostly green to green-yellow with yellow tips.
Habitat: Red-breasted Toucans inhabit subtropical and tropical montane and submontane forests, scrublands, trees in Pantanal savannas, and lowland forests, which sometimes extend into plantations after breeding.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Red-breasted Toucans are found in Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Argentina’s subtropical regions.
4.7. Toco Toucan (Ramphastos toco)
Toco Toucans are the largest of the toucans, typically with an average length of 56 cm and weighing 500 to 876 g. Calls are a series of grunting and rattling sounds.
Description: Toco Toucans can easily be recognised by their huge bills. These bills are bright orange with black tips and black bases. They have almost all glossy black colouring with big white bibs and white rumps. Their faces have yellow orbital skin, and their eyes have blue circles around them.
Habitat: Toco Toucans live in various habitats, such as gallery forests, savannas, coastal areas, plantations, and orchards.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Toco Toucans are endemic to South America and have a wide distribution from the Guianas south to northern Argentina and Uruguay.
4.8. White-throated Toucan (Ramphastos tucanus)
White-throated Toucans typically range from 53 to 58 cm and weigh 540 to 780 g. Their loud yelping calls are among all the toucans’ most characteristic sounds.
Description: White-throated Toucans are glossy black with large white bibs bordered in red at the bottom. The under-tail coverts of these birds are pink to orange, while the upper-tail coverts are yellow. They have blue orbital skin around their eyes and blue feet. Their bills are long and dark red to orange, with green-yellow culmen stripes, yellow areas above, blue below, and narrow black basal bands. Additionally, their mouth linings are red.
Like Channel-billed Toucans, Channel-billed Toucans and White-throated Toucans are almost identical, but White-throated Toucans have proportionally larger bills.
Habitat: White-throated Toucans prefer tropical, humid forests but can also be found in woodlands and occasionally in riverine forests within Cerrado.
Distribution: White-throated Toucans can be found in the Amazon Basin and the Araguaia River drainages in South America.
5. Genus Selenidera
These toucanets are found in lowland rainforests in tropical South America, with one species occurring in central America (Yellow-eared Toucanet). All of the species have green upperparts and red under-tail coverts. They all have patches of blue-green skin around their eyes. All males have black caps, napes, throats, and breasts. They also have orange or yellow stripes behind the eyes. Females resemble males but may have blacks replaced by reddish-browns or greys, as in the case of the Guianan Toucanet.
5.1. Golden-collared Toucanet (Selenidera reinwardtii)
Golden-collared Toucanets typically range from 33 to 35 cm and weigh 129 to 178 g. They have a series of croaking calls.
Description: Golden-collared Toucanets have green backs and tails with chestnut tips. They also have yellow ear coverts that extend to golden hind collars. The bird features black caps, black underparts, black napes, and necks. The bills of the Golden-collared Toucanet are mostly red, with black towards the tip for the last third. Additionally, they have yellow flanks. Female Golden-collared Toucanets have chestnut caps, chestnut underparts, and yellow flanks.
Habitat: Golden-collared Toucanets inhabit the interior and edges of montane forests, forests in floodplains, and occasionally várzea. They are more common in dry upper areas of forests.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Golden-collared Toucanets can be found in South-central Colombia, eastern Ecuador, Peru, northwestern Bolivia, and western Brazil.
5.2. Gould’s Toucanet (Selenidera gouldii)
Gould’s Toucanets typically average about 33 cm in length and weigh 138 to 183 g. They have a series of very slow, croaking calls.
Description: Gould’s Toucanets are mostly green in male adults with black heads, chins, throats, and bellies. They have yellow bands on their lower necks and chestnut tips on their tails. Females have chestnut, whereas the males have black with narrower yellow bands. Their bills have narrow white bases, black middles, and orange-yellow outer thirds with ivory “teeth” on the tomiums. The mandibles have ivory inner halves with thin black areas between them and the orange-yellow outer ends.
Habitat: The Gould’s Toucanets can be found in various types of forests, including tropical lowland, gallery, deciduous, and secondary forests. They also inhabit thickets near forests and occasionally in flooded várzea forests.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Gould’s Toucanets are found in Southern Brazil, Eastern Bolivia, and Central Mato Grosso.
5.3. Guianan Toucanet (Selenidera piperivora)
Guianan Toucanets typically measure 33 to 35 cm long and weigh 129 to 139 g. They have a series of very slow, croaking calls.
Description: Male Guianan Toucanets have black on the crown, nape, throat, breast, belly, and green upper parts. Their tails are green with chestnut tips, and their undertail covers are red. Female adults have black caps, chestnut napes, and upper backs with hints of a yellow collar. Their underparts are grey to green-grey with green-yellow belies.
Habitat: Male Guianan Toucanets inhabit moist forested areas, including gallery forests in savannas and favour primary forests over selectively logged areas.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Guianan Toucanets are found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela, as well as in Eastern Bolivia and Central Mato Grosso, including tributaries of upper Paraguay.
5.4. Spot-billed Toucanet (Selenidera maculirostris)
Spot-billed Toucanets typically measure 33 to 37 cm long and weigh 137 to 193 g. They have a series of gruff, growling calls.
Description: Spot-billed Toucanets are birds with greenbacks and tails and red undertail coverts. They have small grey bills, large tooth-like dark spots, and yellowish hind collars. The males have black caps, black underparts with yellow flanks, and yellow ear coverts. On the other hand, the females have chestnut caps and chestnut underparts with yellow flanks.
Habitat: Spot-billed Toucanets inhabit various forest types, including old-growth, secondary, selectively logged, remnant forests, palm groves, and gallery forests at the edges of the cerrado.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Spot-billed Toucanets are found in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.
5.5. Tawny-tufted Toucanet (Selenidera nattereri)
Tawny-tufted Toucanets typically measure 32 to 33 cm long and weigh 148 to 165 g. They make growl-like, croaking calls that may last 10 to 15 seconds.
Description: Male Tawny-tufted Toucanets have black feathers on their lower bodies and heads, while their upper bodies are green. They also have red and yellow thighs, red-tipped dark tails, multi-coloured bills with red at the basal line, and tawny-yellow ear tufts. The facial skin around their eyes and beaks are blue to bright green-yellow. Females have similar appearances, except for the black feathers on their heads and underparts, replaced by rusty-rufous feathers.
Habitat: Tawny-tufted Toucanets inhabit forested lowlands, frequently on sandy soil, usually near waterways and low open forests.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Tawny-tufted Toucanets are found in extreme eastern Colombia, southern Venezuela, and northwestern Brazil.
5.6. Tepui Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus whitelianus)
Tepui Toucanets typically measure 33 to 41 cm long and weigh 117 to 160 g.
Description: Tepui Toucanets have green plumage with white throats, yellow-green undertail coverts, and blue under the eyes. Their bills are black with varying amounts of red and sometimes have red tips on their tails.
Habitat: Tepui Toucanets inhabit subtropical moist montane cloud forests on tepuis in Venezuela and hilly tropical forests in Guyana and Surinam.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Tepui Toucanets are found in southern Venezuela and northwestern Guyana.
5.7. Yellow-eared Toucanet (Selenidera spectabilis)
Yellow-eared Toucanets typically measure 36 to 38 cm long and weigh 175 to 245 g. They make long series of double calls, sometimes accompanied by bill snapping.
Description: Yellow-eared Toucanet males have green backs, black caps, blue-green bare skin around the eyes, and large yellow tufts behind the eyes. In contrast, females have chestnut foreheads and hindnecks and lack the males’ yellow ear tufts. They have red undertail coverts and black underparts with chestnut flanks. Their bills are long with black basal lines, yellow maxilla, and dark olive to brownish mandibles.
Habitat: Yellow-eared Toucanets inhabit wet forested slopes and ridges, nearby secondary forests, and fruit trees close to the forest edges.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern (LC).
Distribution: Yellow-eared Toucanets are distributed from northeastern Honduras to extreme northwestern Ecuador, including Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and western Colombia.
Conclusion
Tropical rainforests are full of life and colour, but among all the birds that inhabit them, toucans stand out as true artists. Their large and colourful bills, along with their striking feathers, create a beautiful contrast against the greenery of the forest. However, there’s more to toucans than their stunning appearance. They are also ecologically important and resilient, playing a crucial role in the ecosystem.
They are seed dispersers, pollinators, and guardians of biodiversity. Their calls echo through the canopy, connecting us to the heart of the rainforest. In a world where conservation matters more than ever, these beaked wonders remind us that every species has a vital role.
Next time you see these colourful birds, remember they are a true living testament to the magic of nature.
