Red toucan

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Red toucan
Ramphastos dicolorus -São Paulo-SP, Brasil-8.jpg

Great Toucan ( Ramphastos dicolorus )

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Woodpecker birds (Piciformes)
Family : Toucans (Ramphastidae)
Genre : Ramphastus
Type : Red toucan
Scientific name
Ramphastos dicolorus
Linnaeus , 1766
Portrait of the Great Toucan
Front view of the Great Toucan
Portrait of the Great Toucan

The green-billed toucan ( Ramphastos dicolorus ) is a species of bird in the family of toucans . It occurs exclusively in South America. No subspecies are distinguished. It can be clearly identified as a toucan due to its beak and differs from other toucan species by its predominantly pale, yellow-greenish beak and its predominantly red underside.

The IUCN classifies the toucan as not endangered ( least concern ). However, no exact population data are available, but the red toucan is still considered to be relatively common.

Appearance

measurements and weight

The body length of adult toucans is 47 to 50 centimeters. The males have a wing length of 17.7 to 19.0 centimeters. The beak measures between 9.67 and 10.70 centimeters. They weigh about 283 grams. Females have a wing length of 17.3 to 19.0 centimeters, a beak length of 7.93 to 9.15 centimeters and weigh between 265 and 400 grams. The red toucan is the smallest species of the genus Ramphastos .

Plumage and beak

Adult toucans have a shiny blue-black body surface, only the upper tail-coverts are red. The forehead, skull and back neck are also blue-black, a thin, featherless white to pale yellow stripe separates the beak from the dark plumage of the skull. The chin, fore neck, throat and cheeks are yellowish-white to pale yellow. There is a large, bright orange spot in the middle of the throat. The underside of the body is red from the center of the chest to the abdomen. The belly sides are black. The under tail cover is also red. On the underside, the tail is matt black, with the feather shafts lightening from black to brown to a horn tone towards the base. The featherless skin around the eye is red to orange-red, the eye itself is surrounded by a blue, gray-blue to greenish-blue eye ring. The eye is greenish-yellow or green-blue.

The bill is narrow, the upper bill is strongly curved. The black base of the beak initially continues on both the lower and upper bills. Most of the beak is greenish to yellowish green. In many individuals it is even yellow at the top. The throat and tongue are blue-violet to slate-colored. The feet and legs are gray to blue to greenish.

Except for the slight difference in size, there is no noticeable sexual dimorphism .

Young birds have a slightly duller plumage than the adult birds. The throat is pale yellow in them and the red areas of color are duller, especially on the upper and lower tail covers.

Possible confusion

Possible confusion within the distribution area mainly exists with the yolk toucan . In all subspecies of the yolk toucan, however, the beak is predominantly black and the red areas on the underside of the body are much less pronounced than in the red toucan. In Santa Catarina , however, there are also occasional hybrids with the yolk toucan.

voice

The most common utterance of the toucan is a croaking clatter of beak. It is onomatopoeic with nyakk , Nrrekk , ggrkk , akk or ekk circumscribed. The male's utterances are generally somewhat darker than those of the female.

Distribution area

The distribution area of ​​the toucan stretches from the southwest and east of Goia , the south of Tocantin and the center of Minas Gerais to the southeast of Mato Grosso , Sul , São Paulo , Paraná , the west and north of Rio de Janeiro and the west of Espírito Santo to the east of Paraguay, the northeast of Argentina and the southeast of Rio Grande do Sul .

Red toucans probably move to other areas of their range if they have too few food resources available. They can then also be observed in parts of Paraná as well as in Santa Catarina , where they are usually missing. They are also regularly observed in the highlands, so they still occur in the west of Rio de Janeiro at altitudes of 2073 meters.

habitat

The red toucan inhabits tropical and subtropical humid to subhumid forests. Mountain forests are also part of its habitat, which means that it avoids competition with the yolk toucan. It occurs mainly in thickets and on the edges of forests and also colonizes secondary forests. In the south of Mato Grosso it is also found in forests on the banks of rivers and penetrates into the Cerrados , the savannas of Brazil.

Food and foraging

Great Toucan foraging for food

The red toucan lives individually, in pairs and in small groups. In Paraguay, individual flocks were observed that comprised up to 23 individuals. While searching for food, it hangs mainly in the treetops, but is occasionally seen on the ground where it eats fallen fruit. On the ground, he is able to move around by hopping. He covers about 30 centimeters with each hop.

The food spectrum includes fruits of Cabralea oblongifolia , Didymopanax navarroi , Euterpe edulis , Guarea macrophylla , black mulberries , Myrciaria jaboticaba , Syagrus romanzoffiana and the Ardiontophoenix cunninghamiana, introduced in South America, as well as the still green stone fruits of coffee plants . The food spectrum also includes other crops grown on plantations. Toucans defend fruit-bearing trees, sometimes aggressively. In Paraguay, red toucans were observed to prevent a troop of golden toucans from feeding in a fig tree. It has also been documented for brown-eared macaws that they are driven away by red toucans. Colored toucans play a significant role in the distribution of plants, as they regurgitate the seeds of larger fruits and excrete smaller seeds with their droppings.

Like other Ramphastos species, animal food also plays a not insignificant role in the food spectrum of the red toucan. It eats spiders and regularly hunts small species of birds. It eats the nestlings of the Magellanisig particularly often . Toucans kept in captivity are regularly observed to hunt house sparrows looking for food in the aviaries.

Reproduction

Red toucan at the breeding cave

The multicolored toucan does not show a conspicuous courtship ritual. Calling birds occasionally throw their heads up or swing them to the side with each syllable. Occasionally they also raise their tails while calling. One of the most important courtship activities is the male's plumage care for the female. Males also frequently feed the female. The breeding season falls from October to February.

Toucans use natural tree hollows, which they enlarge. Both parent birds and occasionally a third red toucan are involved in this. This is usually a second male. The habitat of red toucans has not yet been adequately investigated. However, it is known from captivity that the male becomes very aggressive and other toucans have to be removed from the aviary. Males also occasionally become aggressive towards caretakers. They then swing their heads from side to side while rattling their beaks loudly.

The clutch consists of two to four eggs. These have an elliptical shape and are white-skinned. The breeding season is 16 days, with both parent birds usually participating in the breeding. The parent birds initially feed insects to the newly hatched young birds. The proportion of plant-based food increases with the age of the nestlings. Fruits are crushed or broken into pieces by the parent birds. The nestlings can fledge at around 35 to 42 days.

attitude

The red toucan was first kept at London Zoo in 1876. The world's first breeding was achieved in 1967 by the Walsrode World Bird Park . In the previous two years, the breeding pair had laid four eggs each, from which four nestlings each hatched. In both years, however, the parent birds killed their nestlings before they fledged. Breeding was only successful in the third year and was accompanied by a change in diet. Instead of fresh meat, the toucans were offered ready-to-eat dog food and supplemented with fruit and rice.

supporting documents

literature

Web links

Commons : Red Toucan ( Ramphastos dicolorus )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Single receipts

  1. ↑ BirdLife Factsheet on the Great Toucan , accessed December 27, 2010
  2. ↑ Lantermann, p. 172
  3. ↑ Short et al., P. 404
  4. ↑ Short et al., P. 403
  5. ↑ Short et al., P. 404
  6. ↑ Lantermann, p. 172
  7. ↑ Short et al., P. 404
  8. ↑ Short et al., P. 405
  9. ↑ Short et al., P. 405
  10. ↑ Short et al., P. 405
  11. ↑ Short et al., P. 406
  12. ↑ Short et al., P. 405 and p. 406
  13. ↑ Lantermann, p. 174 and p. 175