Red-headed marassari
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Red-headed marassari ( Pteroglossus azara ) |
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| Pteroglossus azara | ||||||||||
| ( Vieillot , 1819) |
The red-headed tarassari ( Pteroglossus azara ) is a species of bird in the toucan family. The species, which is predominantly found in forests of the lowlands, occurs exclusively in South America. The IUCN classifies the red caper as 
(= least concern - not endangered).
There are three subspecies.
Appearance
The body length of adult red headed Parassaris is 36 to 40 centimeters. The males of the nominate form have a wing length between 11.7 and 13.3 centimeters. The tail measures 11.5 to 13.2 centimeters. The beak length is between 7.9 and 10.0 centimeters. The females differ from the males, among other things, by their slightly shorter beak. The beak length with them is 6.8 to 8.7 centimeters.
Adult males of the nominate form are black from the forehead to the neck, the head and neck sides are dark chestnut red. The top of the body is dark red with the feather base being green. This green is especially visible in the middle of the back, where the feathers often lack the red tip. The rest of the back is dark green and partially washed over with blue. The trunk is bright red, the upper tail-coverts are green. The tail is very long and deep green in relation to the body size, on the underside it has a dull yellow-greenish sheen. The chin and throat are dark maroon, and a black band of different widths runs along the lower throat. A wide red band runs across the chest, which in some individuals has a yellowish shimmer, where it meets the black throat band. A wide black band runs across the middle of the chest and turns into a dark green on the sides of the body. The belly is yellow and in many individuals lightens to a white yellow at the end of the body. The under tail-coverts are pale yellow, in some individuals also partially green and in exceptional cases also reddish.
The upper beak is curved and ends in a point. The beak is yellow to ivory in color and has dark teeth. In the subspecies P. a. mariae , the lower bill is predominantly orange, the nominate form, on the other hand, has a partial orange color on the upper bill. In the subspecies Pa flavirostris , the lower beak is only orange in places. The featherless facial skin is gray, gray-blue or slate-colored. The eyes are red to dark red or maroon. The feet and legs are green to olive in color. The females of the nominate form are similar to the males, but with them the area from the forehead to the neck is not black, but dark chestnut.
The red headed marassari can only be confused with other black and green marassari . The red-headed carassari differs from these species by its red, black and yellow striped underside of the body and the predominantly horn-colored beak.
Distribution area and habitat
The distribution area of the red headed carassaria is very large. It extends from Meta , Bolívar and the northeast of Guainía over western Bolivia, Venezuela along the Andes to the east of Ecuador and eastern Peru to northern Bolivia and northwestern Brazil east of the Rio Madeira . The population density varies from region to region; on the upper Orinoco , the red-headed carassari is the most common toucan species. The height distribution extends up to 350 meters in Venezuela and up to 500 meters in Colombia. In Ecuador it can be found in places up to 1400 meters and in Peru up to 1370 meters. In Bolivia he is below 900 meters above sea level.
Its habitat are moist to very moist forests of the lowlands. At the foot of the Andes it also occurs in the transition to subtropical cloud forests . It also colonizes bamboo thickets on rivers, secondary forests, plantations, gallery forests and forests in savannahs and forest edges.
Way of life
The red headed marassari is mainly observed in small groups and in pairs. Squads include up to five individuals. It looks for food mainly in the treetops, but occasionally comes to the ground. Fruits make up most of its diet, but it also eats insects.
Red-headed Parassaris are cave-breeders and probably breed mainly in abandoned woodpecker holes. The clutch comprises two to three eggs. These have an elliptical shape and are glossy white. Otherwise nothing is known about reproductive biology.
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
Single receipts
- ^ Lantermann, S: 128
- ↑ Short et al., P. 380
- ↑ Short et al., P. 379
- ↑ Short et al., P. 381
- ↑ Short et al., P. 381
Web link
- Pteroglossus azara inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2013.