The New Neotropical Companion

ebony body feathers offset by white or yellow throats
and scarlet on the rump or under the tail. Most species
have a colorful patch of bare skin around each eye.
The Keel- billed Toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus;
plate 15- 28), at 51 cm (20 in), is one of the larger
species; it ranges from tropical Mexico through the
upper Amazon. Both male and female look alike, a
characteristic of most ramphastids. The Keel- billed
Toucan has a call remarkably like that of a tree frog:
preep, preep, preep. Like most toucans, Keel-bills
associate in flocks of up to a dozen or more individuals.
Typically, when one toucan flies, another soon follows,

and then another. A loose “string” of toucans will move

from one tree to the next.

Toucans are primarily frugivores, taking a wide variety

of fruits from many plant genera, including Cecropia

and Ficus. They show a preference for the ripest fruits,

selecting black over maroon and maroon over red, the

precise order of ripest to least ripe. Toucans are relatively

large, heavy birds and prefer to perch on strong branches,

reaching out to snip food with their elongate bills.

Toucans are gulpers (chapter 10). A toucan snips off a

fruit and holds it near the bill tip. It then flips its head

back, tossing the fruit into its throat. Though this may

Plate 15- 30. The Spot- billed Toucanet (Selenidera maculirostris)

is one of the most distinctive of the toucanets. It is found in

parts of central and southeastern Amazonia. Photo by Andrew

Whittaker.

Plate 15- 32. The Pale- mandibled Aracari (Pteroglossus

erythropygius) has a range limited to a small part of Ecuador.

However, some authorities do not consider it to be a separate

species from the widespread Collared Aracari (Pteroglossus

torquatus). Debates over taxonomy are extremely common in

ornithology now. Photo by John Kricher.

Plate 15- 31. The Collared Aracari (Pteroglossus torquatus) is
the most common of the aracari species in Central America.
This bird has just captured a large dragonfly. Photo by James
Adams.

Plate 15- 29. Toucanets are smaller than toucans and tend
to be strongly green, blending well with the foliage they
inhabit. This is the Crimson- rumped Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus
haematopygus), found in northwestern South America. Photo
by Gina Nichol.

274 chapter 15 neotropical birds: the bustling crowd