Fiery-billed Aracari
Pteroglossus frantzii
Aracaris are medium-sized toucans, rather slender and long tailed. Fiery-billed is distinctive: the top half of the bill is bright orange. Also note the red belly band. Most often found in small flocks; favors any sort of forested area including edges and gardens.
Identification
The fiery-billed aracari is about 45 cm (18 in) long and weighs 225 to 280 g (7.9 to 9.9 oz). Like other toucans, the fiery-billed aracari is brightly marked and has a large bill. The adult's bill has a vertical ivory line at its base. Its mandible is black. Its maxilla is mostly red, with a black culmen, yellow tip, and greenish base. Adults have a black head, neck, and throat with a chestnut collar on the nape. Bare red skin surrounds the eye. Their back is blue-green and their rump is red. Their underparts are bright yellow with a red band across the belly and a black spot in the center of the breast. Their thighs are chestnut. Females differ from males only in having a darker chestnut collar and a shorter bill. Immatures have duller plumage overall; its pattern and that of their bill are indistinct.
Taxonomy
Major taxonomic systems have long treated the fiery-billed aracari as a species that is closely related to the collared aracari (P. torquatus). At least one 20th century author treated it as a subspecies of the collared aracari.<p>The fiery-billed aracari is monotypic.<p>The species' specific epithet commemorates the German naturalist Alexander von Frantzius.[citation needed]
- Scientific name
- Pteroglossus frantzii
- Authority
- Cabanis, 1861
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Ramphastidae
- Genus
- Pteroglossus
Range and habitat
The fiery-billed aracari is found from the Gulf of Nicoya on Costa Rica's Pacific coast south into Panama's western Chiriquí Province. It formerly occurred as far east as Veraguas Province. It inhabits the interior and edges of wet primary and secondary forest. In elevation it mostly ranges from sea level to 1,200 m (3,900 ft) but is occasionally found as high as 1,800 m (5,900 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The fiery-billed aracari is considered a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>Fiery-billed aracaris typically travel in groups of about six or more individuals that sometimes include other toucan species. They also roost communally; several may occupy a cavity overnight.<p>The fiery-billed aracari's diet is mostly fruit but it also feeds on large insects, the eggs and nestlings of other birds, and other small vertebrates. It mostly forages in or close under the canopy but will feed on fruits in the understory. They glean fruit by stretching from a perch, bending, and even hanging upside down.<p>The fiery-billed aracari's breeding season in Costa Rica is January to April and may extend later in Panama. The typical clutch size is two though sometimes more are laid. It typically nests in a woodpecker hole, either abandoned or from which they evict the woodpeckers, and which may be as high as 30 m (100 ft) above the ground. The incubation period and time to fledging are not known. Both parents incubate the eggs and provision the nestlings and fledglings. They are often helped by one or more other adults that may be from the previous season's brood. Young nestlings are fed mostly insects.<p>The fiery-billed aracari's calls include high pitched "'pseep' to 'sis-sik' in series" that are essentially the same as those of the collared aracari. It also makes "a croaking call, and soft rattle."
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Black Guillemot
Cepphus grylle
Small seabird of coastal areas of the North Atlantic and Alaska. Breeding plumage is entirely black with bold white patch on wings and bright red legs. Changes dramatically in winter to whitish overall with some dusky markings on body and black wingtips. Often found in shallower coastal waters including from shore. Dives to hunt for fish and invertebrates. Nests in crevice or burrow in a cliff or around large rocks.
Purple-throated Euphonia
Euphonia chlorotica
Tiny bird with a strong bill and short tail. Males are glossy blue-black on the head, back, and throat with a bright yellow forehead and belly, and a white undertail. Females are olive-green above with either a yellowish or white belly flanked by yellow depending on region. Found commonly in a variety of habitats from humid forests to mangroves and from agricultural areas to gardens. Often accompanies mixed-species flocks. The most frequently heard vocalization is the “teee-deee” call.
Chilean Flicker
Colaptes pitius
No similar species in its range. Found in woodland, forest, matorral, and farmland with taller trees and hedges; often feeds on the ground. In some areas of central Chile nests in colonies in dirt bluffs, such as along roadsides; elsewhere usually nests in holes drilled in trees. Note the gray crown and plain buffy face (with dark whisker on male), big white rump patch, and yellow shafts to wing feathers (mainly visible in flight). Loud shrieking calls sometimes draw attention.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.