Golden-throated toucan
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Golden-throated toucan ( Ramphastos ambiguus ) |
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| Ramphastos ambiguus | ||||||||||
| Swainson , 1823 |
The golden-throated toucan ( Ramphastos ambiguus ) is a species of bird in the toucan family. It occurs in Central and South America. It is a large bird that can be clearly identified as a toucan due to its beak shape. Within its range, it can only be confused with the coastal toucan . This is similarly colored but much smaller.
The species is classified as harmless ( least concern ) by the IUCN . The exact population numbers are not known, but it is considered common in parts of its range. In some regions, however, populations have declined sharply due to habitat destruction.
Several subspecies are distinguished.
Appearance
Gold-throated toucans are 56 to 61 centimeters tall. The males of the nominate form reach a wing length of 22.0 to 24.8 centimeters. The beak length is between 15.3 and 19.8 centimeters. Females reach a wing length of 20.6 to 24.8 centimeters. Their beak length is between 13.1 and 15.1 centimeters. The females' smaller beak is the only noticeable sexual dimorphism .
Plumage and beak of the nominate form
Adult nominate birds have a black skull, a black body, and a black tail. The feathers from the top of the head to the middle of the back all have a dark red-brown tip, which gives the top of the body a red-brown shimmer in these areas. The underside of the body is also black from the chest to the abdomen and the flanks. A small line between the top of the head and the beak is feathery yellow. The lower half of the face and the throat are also yellow. A narrow white and red band separates the yellow breast from the otherwise black underside of the body. The upper tail coverts are white to creamy white, the lower tail coverts are bright red.
The beak is long, the upper beak is strongly curved and ends in a point. The beak color is yellow and black with the lower bill being completely black. The bare skin of the face is blue to pale yellow or greenish yellow. There is a thin black line around the eye. The color of the eyes varies greatly from person to person and varies from gray to gray-brown to brown or dark green. The legs and feet are bluish to blue-gray in color.
Young birds have a duller plumage, the black areas of which appear soot-colored. The yellow parts of the plumage are lighter, the red under tail cover has an orange tone. The color of the beak differs significantly from that of adult birds and can be completely horn-colored.
Appearance of the subspecies
The subspecies Ramphastos ambiguus swainsonii , which occurs in Honduras , northwest Colombia and western Ecuador , differs from the nominate form in that the black beak parts of the nominate form are predominantly brown in color. The eyes are yellow-green to greenish-yellow. The nominate form Ramphastos ambiguus abbreviatus , which occurs in northeast Colombia and in the northwest and north of Venezuela , has a featherless facial skin that is more greenish than the nominate form. The beak color is otherwise identical to that of the nominate form.
Distribution area and habitat
The distribution area of the golden-throated toucan stretches gappy from southeast Honduras to Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru . In southeast Honduras it occurs sporadically, in Nicaragua it is only represented in the remaining forest areas. In Costa Rica and Panama its distribution is limited to the eastern halves of the country, in the west it is very rare. In South America, the distribution area extends from Panama to the southwest of Ecuador and the eastern slopes of the Andes. In Colombia it is only sporadically represented on the eastern slopes of the Andes and occurs from there to central Peru. The nominate form predominantly inhabits the mountain rainforests of the east. The adjacent lowlands are populated by a subspecies of the white-breasted toucan, which presumably prevents the golden-throated toucan from immigrating into deeper zones due to ecological competition for this approximately equal-sized species. The two other subspecies, on the other hand, have a less defined altitude distribution and occur both in coastal, flatter mountain regions and at high altitudes.
In Central America the golden-throated toucan is predominantly a bird of the lowlands. In Costa Rica it occurs at altitudes of up to 1200 and locally even up to 1850 meters. In Panama he is mostly below 1200 meters above sea level. In Colombia it has already been observed at altitudes of 2,650 meters and in western Ecuador at altitudes of 2,286 meters. In Peru it occurs at altitudes between 700 and 1859 meters. Its habitat are humid, tropical forests in the lowlands and humid tropical and subtropical forests on mountain slopes. Swamp forests and cloud forests also belong to its range . It occurs preferentially at the edges of forests and in clearings, but also lives in older secondary forests as well as gallery forests and gardens, plantations and golf courses with old trees. It lives mainly in the treetops, but while foraging for food it also comes down to the lower areas of trees and bushes, and occasionally even on the ground.
Food and subsistence
The golden-throated toucan lives individually or in pairs, only occasionally smaller groups are observed. However, if individual groups of trees bear particularly abundant fruit, up to 20 individuals can gather here. Occasionally it is associated with yolk toucans and coastal toucans. Although its diet consists primarily of fruits, it is an opportunistic omnivore. The food spectrum also includes insects, snakes, lizards and breeding birds. The golden-throated toucan plays a significant ecological role in the distribution of some plant species. For example, it contributes significantly to the spread of the sebum nutmeg tree . 45 percent of the seeds in this tree that are eaten by birds come from the golden-throated toucan.
Golden-throated toucans defend individual fruit-bearing trees vigorously against food competitors such as other toucan species, but also against their own partner. Animal food includes cicadas, ghosts and swarming termites, as well as small mammals, birds, lizards and snakes. The Black-Mandibled Toucan looking specifically for bird's nests and eats example, regularly nestlings of yellow breasted and single tyrant species such as the mourning tyrant . He was seen shooing a female double-toothed harrier from the nest in order to then eat the clutch. A joint hunt with the partner bird has also been observed. Occasionally it follows yolk toucans to fruit-bearing trees and then drives them away.
Reproduction
During the courtship ritual, vocalizations are accompanied by vertical head movements. On the first syllable, golden-throated toucans throw their head back and then move it back down with several jerky movements. The tail is spread upwards. Mutual plumage care has also been observed in the golden-throated toucan. Males also feed the females with choked up food. Occasionally the female passes the food back or in individual cases even feeds the male.
Golden-throated toucans usually nest in natural tree hollows, in rare cases they also use abandoned woodpecker holes. Otherwise very little is known about the reproductive biology of the golden-throated toucans. According to current knowledge, they raise two to three young per clutch. The breeding season varies with the geographical latitude and falls, for example, in Costa Rica in the period March to June, while in Ecuador and Peru breeding birds and young birds are observed in the period December to May. Both parent birds are involved in the care of the young birds and defend their nesting cavity against possible predators . A golden-throated toucan has been seen driving a wrapped bear from the nesting tree.
Human and gold-throated toucan
Golden-throated toucans are regularly hunted by indigenous peoples in Central and South America for human consumption. They are considered to be very tasty. In general, golden-throated toucans are rather shy birds, but as they are also very curious, they can be lured by whistling. There is evidence that the inhabitants of a village hunted 57 golden-throated toucans in a period of two weeks.
supporting documents
literature
- Werner Lantermann: Toucans and Arassaris. Filander Verlag, Fürth 2002, ISBN 3-930831-46-5
- Lester L. Short and Jennifer FM Horne: Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides - Ramphastidae, Capitonidae and Indicatoridae . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2001, ISBN 0-19-854666-1
Web links
- BirdLife factsheet on the golden-throated toucan
- Ramphastos ambiguus inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.1. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
Single receipts
- ↑ BirdLife factsheet on the golden-throated toucan , accessed December 28, 2010
- ^ Lantermann, p. 198
- ↑ Short et al., P. 429 and p. 430
- ↑ Short et al., P. 428
- ↑ Short et al., P. 429
- ↑ Short et al., P. 429
- ↑ Lantermann, p. 200
- ↑ Short et al., P. 431
- ↑ Short et al., P. 431
- ↑ Short et al., P. 431
- ↑ Short et al., P. 431
- ↑ Short et al., P. 432
- ↑ Short et al., P. 432
- ↑ Short et al., P. 432
- ↑ Short et al., P. 432
- ↑ Short et al., P. 431 and p. 432