The ZooChat Photographic Guide To The Piciformes (part I) - Toucans

The toucans form a well known family within the Piciformes. While the family has been quite stable at genus level, there have been many recent splits at species level. A fair few of these splits are contested, and some separable only by range. HBW recognizes fifty species in five genera.

The family ranges from central Mexico in the north to northern Argentina and Uruguay in the south. All but the Toco Toucan are forest-dwellers.

And now, the Ramphastidae.

 

Ramphastidae


Ramphastidae contains five genera, with 50 species recognized by HBW.


Ramphastos - Typical Toucans

Aulacorhynchus - Green Toucanets

Andigena - Mountain-toucans

Selenidera - Dichromatic Toucanets

Pteroglossus - Aracaris

 

Ramphastos - Typical Toucans


Toco Toucan Ramphastos toco (Müller, 1776)

Patchily distributed in the Guyanas, along the lower Amazon River, widespread in central South America below the Amazon rainforest to northern Argentina and barely Uruguay.

Polytypic, two subspecies recognized tentatively with poor differentiation. albogularis said to be smaller than nominate, with a whiter throat.

R. t. albogularis

Photo by @Maguari


R. t. toco

Photo by @vogelcommando




Yellow-throated Toucan Ramphastos ambiguus (Swainson, 1823)

Also known as Swainson’s Toucan, Chestnut-mandibled Toucan

Eastern Honduras through down to north-western Venezuela, along west slope of Andes into central Peru.

Polytypic, three subspecies. R. brevis has been considered a subspecies, R. a. swainsonii sometimes elevated to full species. Differences between races slight, however not believed to overlap in range.

R. a. abbreviatus - photo by @toto98



R. a. ambiguus
No photos of this subspecies in the gallery.

R. a. swainsonii - photo by @ThylacineAlive




Cuvier’s Toucan Ramphastos cuvieri (Wagler, 1827)

Much of central South America, east of Andes from central Colombia south to northern Bolivia, east to central Brazil.

Polytypic, two subspecies. Species is frequently merged with R. tucanus, HBW considers it valid so including here. Race inca sometimes merged with cuvieri, does intergrade.

R. c. cuvieri
Possible photo of this subspecies in the gallery, however the distinguishing characters of beak and rump are unable to ascertain.

R. c. inca

Photo by @LaughingDove




Red-billed Toucan Ramphastos tucanus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Central Venezuela through Guyanas and north-central Brazil.

HBW considers it to be monotypic, although often merged with R. cuvieri. Several forms proposed, none considered valid by HBW.

Photo by @ro6ca66




Keel-billed Toucan Ramphastos sulfuratus (Lesson, 1830)

Also known as Rainbow-billed Toucan.

East central and south Mexico down the Atlantic side through Honduras, continues throughout Nicaragua down to far northern Colombia and barely north-western Venezuela.

Polytypic, two weakly defined subspecies that intergrade where they meet. Nominate is larger, with a larger portion of red on the end of the bill; no or very little red around the yellow throat.

R. s. brevicarinatus

Photo by @Blackduiker


R. s. sulfuratus

Photo by @vogelcommando




Choco Toucan Ramphastos brevis (Meyer de Schauensee, 1945)

West slope of Andes from just below Panama border down through Colombia and Ecuador. Range does overlap that of R. ambiguus, with which species has often been considered conspecific.

Monotypic, although superficially similar to R. ambiguus and often considered conspecific. Voice, smaller size, and bill size/color basis for separation.

Photo by @ronnienl




Citron-throated Toucan Ramphastos citreolaemus (Gould, 1844)

North-central and north-eastern Colombia into north-western Venezuela.

Monotypic, however belongs to a species group with R. culminatus, R. vitellinus, and R. ariel. These four are commonly considered conspecific under R. vitellinus. Morphology is best separation, although species overlap produces hybrids.

This species is not represented in the gallery.



Yellow-ridged Toucan Ramphastos culminatus (Gould, 1833)

East of Andes from central Colombia south to Bolivia, east to just short of Guyanas and central Brazil.

Monotypic, though belonging to the “vitellinus” species group. A few described forms now considered hybrids.

Photo by @ronnienl




Channel-billed Toucan Ramphastos vitellinus (Lichtenstein, 1823)

Central Venezeula and Guyanas into north-central Brazil.

Monotypic, belongs to the “vitellinus” species group. Two previously described forms now considered hybrids with culminatus.

Photo by @Hix




Ariel Toucan Ramphastos ariel (Vigor, 1826)

Two disjunct populations; one in central Brazil, the second along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from E Pernambuco S to Santa Catarina.

Monotypic despite two disjunct populations. Belongs to the “vitellinus” group, though more distinctive than some.

Photo by @geomorph




Red-breasted Toucan Ramphastos dicolorus (Linnaeus 1766)

Also known as Green-billed Toucan.

Eastern Paraguay through southern Brazil.

Monotypic.

Photo by @geomorph

 

Aulacorhynchus - Green Toucanets


Wagler’s Toucanet Aulacorhynchus wagleri (Sturm & Sturm, 1841)

South-west Mexico (Sierra Madre del Sur in Guerrero and SW Oaxaca)

Monotypic; one of the Emerald Toucanet (A. prasinus) complex.

This species is not represented in the gallery.



Emerald Toucanet Aulacorhynchus prasinus (Gould, 1833)

East-central Mexico to northern Nicaragua; absent from most of the Yucatan peninsula.

Polytypic, four subspecies retained after recent splits. Forms a species complex with A. wagleri, A. caeruleogularis, A. albivitta, A. cyanolaemus and A. atrogularis. These six species were long considered one, recent morphological and genetic evidence promoting the split.

A. p. prasinus

Photo by @carlos55


A. p. virescens

Photo by @jbnbsn99


A. p. volcanius
This subspecies is not represented in the gallery.

A. p. warneri
This subspecies is not represented in the gallery.



Blue-throated Toucanet Aulacorhynchus caeruleogularis (Gould, 1854)

Somewhat patchy distribution from northern Costa Rica barely into Colombia.

Polytypic, two subspecies. Belongs to the Emerald Toucanet complex.

A. c. caeruleogularis

Photo by @ThylacineAlive


A. c. cognatus
This subspecies is not represented in the gallery.



Greyish-throated Toucanet Aulacorhynchus albivitta (Boissonneau, 1840)

Also known as White-throated Toucanet.

North-western Venezuela down along northern and western Colombia barely into north-central Ecuador.

Polytypic, four subspecies. A member of the Emerald Toucanet complex.

A. a. albivitta

Photo by @ThylacineAlive


A. a. griseigularis
This subspecies is not represented in the gallery.

A. a. lautus
This subspecies is not represented in the gallery.

A. a. phaeolaemus
This subspecies is not represented in the gallery.



Black-billed Toucanet Aulacorhynchus cyanolaemus (Gould, 1866)

South-central Ecuador into north-central Peru.

Monotypic. Belongs to the Emerald Toucanet complex. Considered by some synonymous with A. atrogularis.

Photo by @jayjds2




Black-throated Toucanet Aulacorhynchus atrogularis (Sturm & Sturm, 1841)

Central Peru extending down into northern Bolivia and extreme western Brazil.

Polytypic, two subspecies recognized; range and smaller size only real differences. Member of the Emerald Toucanet complex, some lump A. cyanolaemus into this species.

A. a. atrogularis

This species is probably represented in the gallery, however due to similarity of subspecies import locale is easiest separation. Unable to ascertain accurate import locations of US birds currently.

A. a. dimidiatus

Photo by @Tomek




Crimson-rumped Toucanet Aulacorhynchus haematopygus (Gould, 1835)

Far north-western Venezuela following the Andes down through Colombia and Ecuador.

Polytypic, two subspecies.

A. h. haematopygus
There are no photos of this subspecies in the gallery.

A. h. sexnotatus

Photo by @ronnienl




Yellow-browed Toucanet Aulacorhynchus huallagae (Carriker, 1933)

Very locally in north-central Peru (San Martín and La Libertad).

Monotypic.

This species is not represented in the gallery.



Blue-banded Toucanet Aulacorhynchus coeruleicinctis (d’Orbigny, 1840)

Central Peru into central Bolivia on the east slope of the Andes.

Monotypic.

Photo by @ThylacineAlive




Yellow-billed Toucanet Aulacorhynchus calorhynchus (Gould, 1874)

Four disjunct populations in north-eastern Colombia and western Venezuela.

Monotypic. Recently often lumped with A. sulcatus due to identical vocalizations and intergradation.

This species is not represented in the gallery.



Groove-billed Toucanet Aulacorhynchus sulcatus (Swainson, 1820)

Along the northern coast of Venezuela.

Polytypic, two subspecies recognized. Recent trend to lump A. calorhynchus into this species.

A. s. erythrognathus
A. s. sulcatus

This species is not represented in the gallery.



Chestnut-tipped Toucanet Aulacorhynchus derbianus (Gould, 1835)

Extreme south-western Colombia through Ecuador, Peru, and into central Bolivia following the eastern slope of the Andes.

Monotypic, though considered conspecific with A. whitelianus until recently.

Photo by @jayjds2




Tepui Toucanet Aulacorhynchus whitelianus (Salvin and Godman, 1882)

Fragmented populations in southern Venezuela, far north-central Brazil, far southern Guyana, and south-eastern Suriname.

Polytypic, three subspecies. A. derbianus was considered conspecific till recently.

A. w. duidae
A. w. osgoodi
A. w. whitelianus

This species is not represented in the gallery.

 

Andigena - Mountain-Toucans


Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan Andigena hypoglauca (Gould, 1833)

Andes from central Colombia through Ecuador and Peru.

Polytypic, two subspecies poorly differentiated and unclear.

A. h. hypoglauca
A. h. lateralis

This species is not represented in the gallery.



Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan Andigena laminirostris (Gould 1851)

Western Andes from far south-western Colombia to central Ecuador.

Monotypic.

Photo by @ThylacineAlive




Hooded Mountain-Toucan Andigena cucullata (Gould, 1846)

Andes from south-central Peru into central Bolivia.

Monotypic.

This species is not represented in the gallery.



Black-billed Mountain-Toucan Andigena nigrirostris (Waterhouse, 1839)

Andes from north-western Venezuela through Colombia and Ecuador.

Polytypic, three subspecies.

A. n. nigrirostris
A. n. occidentalis
A. n. spilorhynchus

Photograph by @Giant Eland

 

Selenidera - Dichromatic Toucanets


Yellow-eared Toucanet Selenidera spectabilis (Cassin, 1858)

Eastern Honduras through to north-western Colombia; an tiny isolated population in north-western Ecuador.

Monotypic.

Not represented in the gallery.



Guianan Toucanet Selenidera piperivora (Linnaeus, 1758)

Eastern Venezuela through the Guyanas and nearby Brazil.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Newzooboy




Red-billed Toucanet Selenidera reinwardtii (Wagler, 1827)

Also known as the Golden-collared Toucanet.

Southern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, northern Peru, barely into neighboring Brazil.

Monotypic, though often treated as conspecific with S. langsdorffii.

Photo by @ThylacineAlive




Green-billed Toucanet Selenidera langsdorffii (Wagler, 1827)

Eastern Peru, north-western Bolivia, western Brazil.

Monotypic, though S. reinwardtii often considered conspecific.

This species is not represented in the gallery.



Gould’s Toucanet Selenidera gouldii (Natterer, 1837)

Central Brazil from the Atlantic Ocean all the way into northern Bolivia.

Monotypic. Occasionally treated as conspecific with S. maculirostris.

Not represented in the gallery.



Spot-billed Toucanet Selenidera maculirostris (Lichtenstein, 1823)

Southern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, barely Argentina.

Monotypic, although S. gouldii sometimes lumped with this species.

Photo by @vogelcommando




Tawny-tufted Toucanet Selenidera nattereri (Gould, 1835)

Southern Venezuela, south-eastern Colombia, north-western Brazil, barely into south-eastern Guyana.

Monotypic.

This species is not represented in the gallery.

 

Pteroglossus - Aracaris


Saffron Toucanet Pteroglossus bailloni (Vieillot, 1819)

South-eastern Brazil into eastern Paraguay and north-eastern Argentina.

Monotypic.

Photo by @jayjds2




Green Aracari Pteroglossus viridis (Linnaeus, 1766)

Southern Venezuela though Guyanas and north-central Brazil.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Kakapo




Humboldt’s Aracari Pteroglossus humboldti (Wagler, 1827)

Southern Colombia through eastern Ecuador and eastern Peru into northern Bolivia and western Brazil.

Monotypic.

Photo by @vogelcommando




Lettered Aracari Pteroglossus inscriptus (Swainson, 1822)

Central Brazil from the Atlantic Ocean across into central Bolivia; a disjunct population in eastern Brazil in Pernambuco and eastern Alagoas.

Monotypic.

Photo by @savethelephant




Collared Aracari Pteroglossus torquatus (Gmelin, 1788)

Southern Mexico down into northern Colombia and Venezuela.

Polytypic, three subspecies. A few races now lumped with existing ones.

P. t. erythrozonus

Photo by @vogelcommando


P. t. nuchalis

Photo by @vogelcommando


P. t. torquatus

Photo by @Patrick87




Stripe-billed Aracari Pteroglossus sanguineus (Gould, 1854)

Southern Panama along the Pacific coast of Colombia and northern Ecuador.

Monotypic; however often considered conspecific with P. torquatus and P. erythropygius.

This species is not represented in the gallery.



Pale-billed Aracari Pteroglossus erythropygius (Gould, 1843)

Western Ecuador and extreme north-west Peru.

Monotypic, though often considered conspecific with P. torquatus and P. sanguineus.

Photo by @vogelcommando




Fiery-billed Aracari Pteroglossus frantzii (Cabanis, 1861)

Western Costa Rica and north-west Panama.

Monotypic. Some consider it conspecific with P. torquatus.

Photo by @ralph




Black-necked Aracari Pteroglossus aracari (Linnaeus, 1758)

Eastern Venezuela and Guyanas into north-central Brazil. Disjunct populations along the south-east coast of Brazil.

Polytypic, three subspecies.

P. a. aracari

Photo by @Goura


P. a. atricollis

Photo by @ronnienl


P. a. wiedii
This species is not represented in the gallery.



Chestnut-eared Aracari Pteroglossus castanotis (Gould, 1834)

Southern Colombia through eastern Ecuador and Peru, northern Bolivia, eastern Paraguay, barely Argentina, and western Brazil.

Polytypic, two subspecies.

P. c. australis

Photo by @devilfish


P. c. castanotis
This subspecies is probably represented in the gallery, however range seems to be the primary difference between the two, and thus far unable to ascertain import locales of most birds in the gallery.



Many-banded Aracari Pteroglossus pluricinctus (Gould, 1835)

Southern Colombia and Venezuela, eastern Ecuador, northern Peru, and north-western Brazil.

Monotypic.

Photo by @vogelcommando




Ivory-billed Aracari Pteroglossus azara (Vieillot, 1819)

Southern Colombia and Venezuela south through eastern Ecuador and Peru into north-western Bolivia and north-western Brazil.

Polytypic, three subspecies recognized.

P. a. azara
This subspecies does not appear to be represented in the gallery.

P. a. flavirostris

Photo by@ThylacineAlive


P. a. mariae

Photo by @vogelcommando




Curl-crested Aracari Pteroglossus beauharnaisii (Wagler, 1831)

Eastern Peru, northern Bolivia, and western Brazil.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Daniel Sörensen




Western Red-necked Aracari Pteroglossus sturmii (Natterer, 1842)

North central Brazil barely into Bolivia.

Monotypic, although frequently regarded as a subspecies of P. bitorquatus. Differences between the two slight.

This species is not represented in the gallery.



Eastern Red-necked Aracari Pteroglossus bitorquatus (Vigors, 1826)

Northeastern Brazil.

Polytypic, often includes P. sturmii as a subspecies. Race bitorquatus considered a species by some, HBW considers differences not enough to merit full species treatment.

P. b. bitorquatus
P. b. reichenowi

This species is not represented in the gallery.

 

These species have been kept in captivity relatively recently but are missing from the gallery. Anyone happen to have photos to upload? Any other species missing are welcome too!

Black-mandibled Toucan
Hooded Mountain-Toucan
Black-billed Mountain-Toucan
Groove-billed Toucanet
Yellow-eared Toucanet
Western/Eastern Red-necked Aracari

 

Fantastic thread - long overdue! Thanks

 

Great thread! Couple of points, though:

1) The Selenidera toucanet at Emerald Forest actually is a langsdorffi
2) The Chestnut-Eared Aracari are DWA and Emerald Forest are the nominate subspecies.

~Thylo

 

Thanks Thylo!

Interesting that the Selenidera is a langsdorffi, they have it as reinwardtii on their site. Since they do separate the Emerald Toucanet (even if as subspecies of Emerald) I chose to follow it. My mistake, I tried to avoid mistakes like that.
Thanks, I was having difficulty finding confirmation of nominate subspecies.

 

Yeah I originally had it down as a reinwardtii as well, but those have a very obvious bright red bill whereas the bill on the photographed individual is identical to that of a langsdorfii.

No problem

~Thylo

 

Great Job!
This thread makes me even more determined to see an actual toucan...

 

Guessing there hasn't been a toucan in Australia in quite a while... Hope you can see one soon!

 

This individual is not a true lettered aracari- it has a black lower mandible, which is a key feature of Humboldt’s. I suspect the individuals at PPZ could be hybrids between the two, but this is not a lettered aracari (and as far as I can tell there are no photos in the gallery of one).

This isn’t a collared aracari, it’s a pale-mandibled aracari- a key identifying factor again being black on the lower mandible.

 

Pictures of these subspecies are in the Ecuador-Wildlife section

 

What is the evidence that the bird in the photo is A. p. virescens?

The bird labelled as A. a. albivitta is Aulacorhynchus prasinus, the bird has a white not grey/blue throat and lacks the orange orbital skin. This photo was taken at Emerald Forest from the looks of things and that collection never kept the former.

The bird labelled as Pteroglossus inscriptus is a pure P.humboldti. Obtained from the offspring of the original import.

 

Emerald Forest, yes.. They referred to the bird as a "White-Throated Toucanet" and explained that it was split off from A. prasinus.

~Thylo

 

The coloration of the bill isn't correct from A.a.albivitatta. A glance at their website confirms this is A.p.prasinus.