Black-mandibled toucan

Black-mandibled toucan
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Ramphastidae
Genus: Ramphastos
Species: R. ambiguus
Binomial name
Ramphastos ambiguus
Swainson, 1823

The black-mandibled toucan (Ramphastos ambiguus) is a large toucan from northern South America.

Taxonomy

The black-mandibled toucan at one time was considered closely related to the Choco toucan but is only distantly related per genetics. However, it is considered very closely related to the chestnut-mandibled toucan. The black-mandibled and chestnut-mandibled do not overlap in the wild and are found to differ 1.35% in mitochondrial DNA. The SACC and NACC of the AOU have recently indicated (in 2010) that these birds should be classified as conspecific.

Subspecies

Distribution

Its distribution ranges along the eastern slope of the Andes from Peru, north through Ecuador and Colombia, to Venezuela as far as the coastal ranges.

Habitat

This species is adapted to a wide variety of habitats, from plains to tropical and subtropical forests. It lives at altitudes of 100–2400 m. in humid montane forests, with a preference for the canopy and edge.

Description

Ramphastos ambiguus at the Bronx Zoo

This species has a total length of 47–61 cm (19–24 in) and weighs from 584 to 746 g (1.287 to 1.645 lb).[2] Among all toucans and living members of the Piciformes order, only the toco toucan and the white-throated toucan average larger than the similarly-sized black-mandibled and chestnut-mandibled races. Among standard measurements, the short wing chord is 20.4 to 24.8 cm (8.0 to 9.8 in), the huge bill is 12.9 to 20 cm (5.1 to 7.9 in), the tail is 14.8 to 17.5 cm (5.8 to 6.9 in), and the tarsus is 4.7 to 5.9 cm (1.9 to 2.3 in).[3]

Its plumage is mainly black. Upper breast and throat are bright yellow, with a thin red border on the throat, a creamy rump and a scarlet anal area. The bill is bicolor and massive, a little shorter in the female. It is lemon-yellowish on the upper side and blackish on the rest of the maxilla and on the mandible, often brown close to the base. The skin of the face around the eyes is pale green or yellow-green.[4]

Behavior

Little is known about the black-mandibled toucan's behavior or life history but it is generally predicted to mirror that of the chestnut-mandibled toucan. Like its sister species, the call of the Ramphastos ambiguus is a yelping, far-carrying cry described as “Díos te dé” (Spanish for "God give you..."). This species mainly feed on fruits, but occasionally on lizards, rodents, smaller birds and insects.

The breeding season lasts from March to June. The nests are usually located in a cavity in rotting wood at 10–25 meters above the ground. The females lay 2-4 white eggs incubating for about two weeks.[4]

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Ramphastos ambiguus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. ↑ Nashville Zoo
  3. ↑ Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides (Bird Families of the World) by Lester Short & Jennifer Horne. Oxford University Press (2001), ISBN 978-0198546665.
  4. 1 2 Oiseaux.net

External links

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