Geographic
Range: Neotropical: Ramphastos sulfuratus lives from South
Mexico to North Colombia and Northeast Venezuela.
Physical Characteristics: Large (50
cm long) colorful bird, with a bill that can grow to be up to one
third the size of its body. This large banana-shaped bill, edged with
tooth-like ridges, is the most distinguishing feature of R. sulferatus,
and is surprisingly lightweight for its size. Inside the bill there
is a long, narrow, feather-like tongue. The body of R. sulfuratus
is black with a bright yellow bib and cheeks. Its rump is white, and
the undertail coverts are a brilliant red. The area directly around
the eyes is bare, showing the pale blue skin underneath. Its bill,
which takes up the entire front of its head, is green, with a bright
orange blaze on the side, red on the tip of the upper mandible, and
blue on the tip of the lower mandible. Males and females share the
same coloration and large bill, the only difference being that the
male is slightly larger than the female. Ramphastos sulfuratus has
blue legs and its toes are arranged in the zygodactyl pattern (with
two toes forward and two toes back). Its tail is long and square-shaped,
and its wings are wide and short. Food
Habits: Primarily fruit, but it will also consume the eggs
or fledglings of other birds, insects, small lizards and tree frogs.
R. sulfuratus can eat the fruit whole by snapping its head back
and gulping down, and consequently regurgitate large seeds unharmed.
Small seeds are passed through the bird's digestive tract. In this
way, the seeds are dispersed far from the parent plant. Although
the function of the bill of R. sulfuratus is not fully understood,
it does make a very good tool for plucking fruit off branches that
are too small to bear the weight of the bird.
Ramphastos sulfuratus can be spotted feeding mainly in high canopy,
and will only fly down occasionally to feed on shrubs or to snatch
a reptilian food item from the forest floor.
Reproduction: Nests in natural
or wood-pecker made tree cavities and lays clutches of 2 to 4 white
glossy eggs. This species can have up to 2 or 3 broods in a year.
Both parents share the responsibility of incubating the eggs and
feeding the chicks once they hatch. The altricial chicks hatch after
16 to 20 days of incubation. They remain in the nest for 8 to 9
weeks.
Ramphastos sulfuratus is apparently monogamous. Sometimes a mated
pair will defend a fruit tree from other toucans and other frugivorous
birds by threat displays and sometimes, if the other bird is also
a toucan, by bill clashes. The brightly colored bill of R. sulfuratus
probably does not play a role in mate selection, as both male and
females share the same large beak and the same bright coloration.
Behavior: Travels in flocks of
6 to 12 adults. The flocks roost in holes of tree trunks, sometimes
with several birds crowding into one hole. Since the tree cavities
aren't always very roomy, the species must conserve space. It does
so by folding its tail up over its back and tucking its beak beneath
its wing when it roosts. Ramphastos sulfuratus is a social feeder
as well. The flocks travel together from tree to tree in loose strings
of birds.
In flight, the Keel-billed Toucan displays a period of rapid flapping
and then a glide. It cannot travel long distances, and it is much
more agile when hopping around from branch to branch in the trees.
Its call is a "creek, creek", which sounds similar to
the croak of a treefrog.
Habitat: lowland forests
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