Genus Ramphastos

 

Black-mandibled Toucan - It occurs at altitudes of 100-2400 m. in humid montane forests, with a preference for the canopy and edge.

 

Choco Toucan - The Choco Toucan is a large , 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 to the beak. In the wild, the two are generally best separated by their voice; croaking in the Choco, yelping in the Chestnut-mandibled.

Red-breasted Toucan - It is one of the smallest species of Ramphastos toucans, weighing approximately 350 grams. Its beak is one of the shortest of Ramphastos toucans at only about 10 cm in length. The Red-breasted Toucan derives its name from the large area of red feathers, which are really on the abdomen. Its breast is actually orange, with yellow at the sides. The beak is mostly pale greenish-horn, leading to its alternative common name, the Green-billed Toucan. In aviculture, their requirement of spacious cages, a high fruit diet and sensitivity to hemochromatosis make them difficult to maintain for novice keepers.

Keel-billed Toucan - Including its bill, the Keel-billed Toucans ranges in length from around 17 to 22 inches . Their large and colorful bill averages around 5-6 in , about one-third of its length. While the bill seems large and cumbersome, it is in fact a spongy, hollow bone covered in keratin, a very light and hard protein.

Chestnut-mandibled Toucan - Like other toucans, the Chestnut-mandibled is brightly marked and has a large bill. The male is 56 cm long and weighs 750g . The smaller female is typically 52 cm long and weighs 580g .

Toco Toucan - The Toco Toucan has a striking plumage with a mainly black body, a white throat, chest and uppertail-coverts, and red undertail-coverts. What appears to be a blue iris is actually thin blue skin around the eye. This blue skin is surrounded by another ring of bare, orange skin. The most noticeable feature, however, is its huge bill, which is yellow-orange, tending to deeper reddish-orange on its lower sections and culmen, and with a black base and large spot on the tip. It looks heavy, but as in other toucans it is relatively light because the inside largely is hollow. The tongue is nearly as long as the bill and very flat. With a total length of 55–65 cm , incl. a bill that measures almost 20 cm , and a weight of 500–860 g , it is the largest species of toucan and the largest representative of the order Piciformes. Males are larger than females, but otherwise both are alike. Juveniles are duller and shorter-billed than adults. Its voice consists of a deep, coarse croaking, often repeated every

Red-billed Toucan - It was formerly considered to be two species, with the southern and western nominate subspecies, R. t. tucanus, named the Red-billed Toucan, and the northern and eastern subspecies, R. t. cuvieri, Cuvier's Toucan . However, the two subspecies, which differ principally in the bill colour, interbreed freely wherever they meet and therefore merit only subspecies status. The subspecies R. t. inca from Bolivia is of questionable validity and may represent a stable hybrid population between tucanus and culminatus.

Channel-billed Toucan - The subspecies were previously considered separate species, but all interbreed freely wherever they meet. These are the Yellow-ridged Toucan , the Citron-throated Toucan and the Ariel Toucan . However, the subspecies R. v. ariel is closer to R. v. culminatus than to the nominate, and are by some already considered close to distinct species status. As R. v. ariel was described before R. v. culminatus, if separated they would become Ramphastos ariel ariel and R. a. culminatus. There also exists an isolated population in eastern Brazil. It looks very similar to, and has traditionally been considered part of, R. v. ariel, but molecular analysis suggests that it has been isolated for a long time and is a yet-undescribed separate subspecies or possibly even species .

Order : Piciformes
Family : Ramphastidae
Genus : Ramphastos