| Channel-billed Toucan (Ramphastos vitellinus (Lichtenstein, 1823)) |
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Scientific name: Ramphastos vitellinus (Lichtenstein, 1823) Common name: Channel-billed Toucan French name: Toucan vitellin Order: Piciformes Family: Ramphastidae Size: Body size: About 56 cm including 9 to 14 for the bill; Weight: 315 to 430 g. Habitat: Forests and woodlands. Food: The Channel-billed Toucan is an arboreal species which mainly feeds on fruits. It may also eat some insects, small reptiles, small amphibians and eggs. Nesting: Channel-billed Toucans nest in holes located rather high in trees and often drilled in rotten wood. The nests are lined with regurgitated seeds. There are two to four eggs per brood. Migration: Sedentary. Geographic area: Amazonian forest, from Trinidad and north-east of Venezuela to southern Brazil and central Bolivia. The nominal Ramphastos vitellinus vitellinus subspecies is found in the north-east part of the range. The Ramphastos vitellinus culminatus subspecies is found in the east and central-south parts of the range. The Ramphastos vitellinus ariel subspecies is found south-east of the Amazon and on the Atlantic coast of Brazil. The Ramphastos vitellinus citreolaemus subspecies is found in northern Colombia and north-western Venezuela. |
The nominal subspecies of the Channel-billed Toucan, Ramphastos vitellinus vitellinus, is a shiny black colour. The rump is bright red. The cheeks are white. The chest is yellow and bordered with white. There is a thin bright red stripe between the chest and the under parts. The long, wide and curved bill is black with a pale blue area at the base. The legs and the area around the eyes are grey blue. There are three other subspecies. The Ariel Toucan, Ramphastos vitellinus ariel, has a completely yellow chest without any white colour. The area around the eyes is reddish, the base of the bill is yellowish and the pectoral stripe is very wide. The Yellow-ridged Toucan, Ramphastos vitellinus culminatus, has a white chest almost without any yellow colour. The pectoral stripe is very thin. The band covering the culmen (on the upper side of the bill) is bright yellow. The Citron-throated Toucan, Ramphastos vitellinus citreolaemus, has a yellow band at the base of the upper mandible. All these subspecies can generate hybrids by cross mating. |
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I have shot this picture near the village of Saül while walking along the Monts La Fumée footpath. I have observed Toucans several times but their rather high position in the canopy did not permit me to shoot pictures very easily. I have not been able to get a better picture than this one with the bird in the far. If I am not wrong, I guess that this one is a member of the nominal Ramphastos vitellinus vitellinus subspecies. |
André Bon September 2014