Choco Toucan
A species of Typical Toucans Scientific name : Ramphastos brevis Genus : Typical Toucans
Choco Toucan, A species of Typical Toucans
Botanical name: Ramphastos brevis
Genus: Typical Toucans
Content
Description General Info
Photo By Steve McInnis
Description
The Choco toucan is a large (although among the smallest Ramphastos toucans), predominantly black bird with a striking yellow and black beak, a yellow bib, white uppertail coverts, red undertail coverts and green ocular skin. It is very similar to the larger chestnut-mandibled toucan, but lacks brown on the beak. In the wild, the two are generally best separated by their voice; croaking in the Choco, yelping in the chestnut-mandibled.
Size
49 cm
Feeding Habits
Choco Toucan's diet is mainly composed of undetermined fruits, with occasional insects and small vertebrates. Typically feeding in the canopy, it sometimes forages alongside Pteroglossus torquatus. Unique in its ability to turn its head upside-down while eating, choco Toucan also follows army ants to capture disturbed prey and drinks from bromeliads.
Habitat
The choco Toucan primarily resides in lowland rainforests and extends into the lower foothills of the Andes, with a propensity for areas that have fruit-bearing trees. These birds are known to frequent and adapt to modified landscapes such as pastures and agricultural plantations that are proximate to their natural forest environment.
Dite type
Frugivorous
General Info
Distribution Area
As suggested by its common name, the Choco toucan is restricted to the humid Chocó forests in western Ecuador and western Colombia. Its estimated global range is over 110,000 km².
Photo By Steve McInnis