Plate-billed Mountain Toucan

Two different colorations of the species can be found. The northern birds have a brown iris and half its maxilla of an orange color. Southern birds have their iris violet/green with their maxilar being divided into pink and yellow with a black base surrounded with a blush line. The head is relatively large with a cervical band of a grayish blue color and the upper part a brownish green, green wings, grayish blue rump with red crissum (the undertail coverts surrounding the cloaca) and brownish thighs. The upper parts and wings are golden olive in color and the underparts are bright blue with yellow lateral patches. The crown and nape are black, the rump is bright yellow, and the thighs are reddish brown. The tail feathers are gray with chestnut tips and the tail coverts are red and dark green. The face has patches of yellow and yellow-green and the iris is red. The bill is black with areas of red and there is a raised ivory colored plate on the upper mandible. The plate-billed mountain toucan is about 42 to 53 centimeters (16.5 to 21 inches) in length, with a relatively lightweight bill up to 10 centimeters long. The average male weighs about 314 grams (11.1 ounces) and the female about 303 grams (10.7 ounces). It is zygodactylous, with two toes facing forward and two pointing back.