Curl-crested Aracari
Pteroglossus beauharnaisii
Heavy-billed small toucan of humid tropical forest. Forages in the canopy of mature rainforest, often in small groups, and sometimes with other species of aracaris. More diffuse facial pattern than other aracaris, with grayish crown covered with soft curls. Belly has a single red band. Not as vocal as other aracaris, but may be heard giving soft grunts and occasionally loud yelps, sounding rather raptor-like.
Identification
The curl-crested aracari is 42 to 46 cm (17 to 18 in) long and weighs 164 to 280 g (5.8 to 9.9 oz). It gains its English name from unique curly, shiny, black feathers on the top of its head and nape; they resemble pieces of plastic or enamel. Males and females are alike except that the female has a shorter bill. Their bill has a brown-orange line at its base. The mandible is ivory becoming orangey at its tip. The maxilla has an orangey culmen and a maroon stripe along its lower part that is wider at the base. Between them the maxilla is green or bluish. It has indistinct ivory colored "teeth" along the tomium. Bare blue skin surrounds their eye, and their cheeks and throat are whitish with black speckles. Their upper back and rump are red and the rest of their upperparts are dark green. Their underparts are yellow with a wide red band across the lower breast. Their undertail coverts can have a red wash. Immatures are a duller version of adults.
Taxonomy
The curl-crested aracari was first described by Johann Georg Wagler in 1831 but the spelling of its specific epithet was not corrected until 2020. It had at times been placed in the monotypic genera Beauharnaisius and Ulocomus.<p>The curl-crested aracari is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Pteroglossus beauharnaisii
- Authority
- Wagler, 1831
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Ramphastidae
- Genus
- Pteroglossus
Range and habitat
The curl-crested aracari is found in the southwestern Amazon Basin south of the Amazon River. Its range extends from northern Peru south of the Marañón River east into western Brazil to the Madeira River and southeast to the Xingu River. From Peru the range also extends south into northern and central Boliva and into Brazil as far as northern Mato Grosso. It inhabits the interior, clearings, and edges of wet forest both well-drained and swampy. It mostly occurs at elevations below 500 m (1,600 ft) but is found as high as 900 m (3,000 ft) near the Andes.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The curl-crested aracari apparently makes short-distance or local movements but is otherwise a year-round resident.<p>The curl-crested aracari usually forages in groups of up to 12 individuals, and usually in the canopy. It does feed at fruiting bushes near the ground. Its diet has not been detailed but is known to be mostly fruit. Its diet also includes eggs and young of other birds, and it is known to tear apart the nests of yellow-rumped caciques (Cacicus cela) to obtain them.<p>The curl-crested aracari's breeding season appears to be mostly May to August but it may start earlier and extend longer. Its nest, eggs, and the rest of its breeding biology are not known.<p>The curl-crested aracari's calls include series of "deep 'rrek' notes, soft 'rrr' to hard, even grunting 'grenk' notes". It also makes a "softer 'et-et'" when settling into a roost. Another author adds a "low, raucous 'cha-cha-cha cha wruh cha--'."
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Silky-tailed Nightjar
Antrostomus sericocaudatus
Large nightjar with dark plumage and long wings. Has blackish-brown broad spots and streaks above and is brown and white spotted below. Note the buffy collar on the nape. Males have a white tipped tail while the female’s tail tips are buffy. Found at the forest edge and in the forest interior, preferring thickets and areas with a bamboo understory. The song is a mournful and undulating “doh, wheo, eeo,” often repeated for long periods.
Okinawa Rail
Gallirallus okinawae
A candy-red bill, curving white head stripe, and lacey black-and-white striping make this a unique and attractive species. Found only in and around the Yanbaru Forest on Okinawa Island, where it forages on the forest floor, often in pairs or small flocks. Most frequently seen as it crosses roads, trails, and clearings. Gives a variety of different calls, typically given during dusk, dawn, or nighttime hours. All are somewhat terrifying, a medley of shrill yelps, high-pitched squeals, and a laughter-like clattering.
Kerguelen Tern
Sterna virgata
A slender tern with a short bill. Breeding adults are dark-capped with an ashy-gray body, a strongly contrasting white cheek stripe and rump, and a reddish bill and legs. In flight, underwings and uppertail are mostly grayish. In non-breeding plumage resembles other non-breeding terns, but note structure. Restricted to a handful of subantarctic islands, where it forages in inshore waters; common on Kerguelen and uncommon on Crozet and Marion. In breeding plumage, the larger Antarctic Tern is paler gray than Kerguelen, with a larger bill and whitish (not grayish) uppertail and underwings. Arctic Terns (in non-breeding plumage) only overlap with Kerguelen Terns (in breeding plumage) in austral summer.
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