Ramphastos dicolorus

Red-breasted Toucan, Ramphastos dicolorus, Photo: Michael Lahanas

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Euavialae
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Ordo: Piciformes

Familia: Ramphastidae
Genus: Ramphastos
Species: Ramphastos dicolorus
Name

Ramphastos dicolorus Linnaeus, 1766
References

Systema Naturae ed.12 p. 152

Vernacular names
English: Red-breasted Toucan
suomi: Kultarintatukaani
magyar: Zöldcsőrű tukán
日本語: アオハシヒムネオオハシ
português: Tucano-de-bico-verde
slovenčina: Tukan pestrý

The green-billed toucan (Ramphastos dicolorus), or red-breasted toucan, is a near-passerine bird in the family Ramphastidae, the toucans, toucanets, and aracaris. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay.[2]
Taxonomy and systematics

The green-billed toucan is sister to the channel-billed toucan (R. vitellinus) and Choco toucan (R. brevis).[3] It is monotypic.[2]
Skull of a green-billed toucan
Description

The green-billed toucan is 42 to 48 cm (17 to 19 in) long and weighs 265 to 400 g (9.3 to 14 oz); it is the smallest member of genus Ramphastos. The sexes are alike though the female's bill is shorter than the male's. Their bill is mostly green to green-yellow, with a vertical black line at its base, red and ivory tomial "teeth", and some green striations on the maxilla. Their crown, nape, upperparts, and tail are black but for red uppertail coverts. Their face is yellow with bare red, blue, and yellow-green skin around the eye. Their throat and breast are yellow with a red area within the lower breast. Their belly and undertail coverts are red and their flanks black.[4]
Distribution and habitat

The green-billed toucan is found from Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and Espírito Santo in south-central, east-central, and southeastern Brazil south through eastern Paraguay, Bolivia and into northern Argentina's Formosa, Chaco, Corrientes, and Misiones provinces. It primarily inhabits subtropical and tropical, sub-montane and montane forest, but also scrublands, savanna with trees, and plantations. In elevation it mostly ranges between 100 and 1,500 m (300 and 4,900 ft); it occurs as high as 2,070 m (6,800 ft) but only rarely.[4]

Behavior
Movement

In the southern part of its range the green-billed toucan moves to lower elevations in the austral winter. After breeding some move from natural forest into plantations.[4]
Feeding

The green-billed toucan feeds mostly on fruits, of both native and introduced plants as well as green coffee beans and fruit in orchards. To a lesser extent it also feeds on insects and small birds. It usually forages in pairs and small groups but 20 or more may gather at times. It usually forages in the forest canopy but will pick up fallen fruit from the ground.[4]
Breeding

The green-billed toucan breeds between October and February in the southern part of its range and from January to June in the north. Pairs are territorial. Males allopreen and courtship-feed females. The species nests in cavities in both living and dead trees, either those made by natural decay or excavated by woodpeckers, and will enlarge both the entrance hole and the cavity if needed. Typically the bottom of the cavity has a layer of ejested seeds. The few nests studied have ranged from 0.7 to 6.0 m (2 to 20 ft) above the ground. The clutch size is two to four eggs. Both adults incubate the eggs and both provision nestlings. The incubation period is about 16 to 19 days and fledging occurs 40 to 50 days after hatch.[4][5]

Dickcissel male perched on a metal pole singing, with neck stretched and beak open.

Songs and calls
Listen to green-billed toucan on xeno-canto
Vocal and non-vocal sounds

The green-billed toucan is one of the "croaker" group of toucans.[3] Its song is a "loud, raucous 'WRèh' or 'niuh'."[6] Other vocalizations are a "long series of noisy honking 'grrekk' notes" and "low 'ek', 'zneep', [and] growl-like begging". It also claps its bill and rattles its tongue in the bill.[4]
Status

The IUCN originally assessed the green-billed toucan as Near Threatened but since 2004 has rated it as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range, but its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] It is thought to be "reasonably common in general." It occurs in several protected areas but outside them is sometimes hunted or persecuted for taking orchard fruit.[4]
References

BirdLife International (2018). "Red-breasted Toucan Ramphastos dicolorus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22682129A131278894. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22682129A131278894.en. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P., eds. (August 2022). "Jacamars, puffbirds, barbets, toucans, honeyguides". IOC World Bird List. v 12.2. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 July 2022. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved July 24, 2022
Short, L.L. and C. J. Sharpe (2020). Red-breasted Toucan (Ramphastos dicolorus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rebtou2.01 retrieved January 4, 2023
Perrella, Daniel Fernandes; Guida, Fernanda Junqueira Vaz (2019). "Additional information on reproductive behavior of the Red-breasted Toucan, Ramphastos dicolorus (Aves: Piciformes: Ramphastidae)". Biota Neotropica. 19 (1). doi:10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2018-0576. ISSN 1676-0611. S2CID 91439429.
van Perlo, Ber (2009). A Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-19-530155-7.