Green-billed toucan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Green-billed toucan |
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| In Parque das Aves, Brazil | |
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Ramphastos
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| Species: |
dicolorus
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The green-billed toucan (Ramphastos dicolorus), also known as the red-breasted toucan, is a colorful bird in the toucan family. It lives in parts of South America. You can find it in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay.
Contents
About the Green-billed Toucan
Family and Relatives
The green-billed toucan belongs to the family Ramphastidae. This family includes toucans, toucanets, and aracaris. This toucan is a "sister species" to the channel-billed toucan and the Choco toucan. This means they are very closely related. The green-billed toucan is a single species, meaning it does not have different types or subspecies.
What Does a Green-billed Toucan Look Like?
The green-billed toucan is about 42 to 48 cm (17 to 19 in) long. It weighs between 265 and 400 g (9.3 to 14 oz). It is the smallest toucan in its group, called Ramphastos.
Males and females look very similar. However, the female's beak is a bit shorter than the male's. Their beak is mostly green to green-yellow. It has a black line at its base. The edges of the beak have red and ivory "teeth" marks. There are also some green stripes on the upper part of the beak.
Their head, neck, upper body, and tail are black. But the feathers under their tail are red. Their face is yellow. Around their eyes, the skin is bare and can be red, blue, or yellow-green. Their throat and chest are yellow. There is a red patch on the lower part of their chest. Their belly and the feathers under their tail are red. Their sides are black.
Where Do Green-billed Toucans Live?
The green-billed toucan lives in south-central, east-central, and southeastern Brazil. Its range extends south through eastern Paraguay and Bolivia. It also lives in northern Argentina, in provinces like Formosa, Chaco, Corrientes, and Misiones.
These birds mostly live in subtropical and tropical forests. They can be found in forests on mountainsides. They also live in scrublands, savannas with trees, and even on farms. They usually live at elevations between 100 and 1500 meters (330 and 4900 ft). Sometimes, they can be found as high as 2070 meters (6790 ft), but this is rare.
Green-billed Toucan Behavior
Movement
In the southern parts of their home range, green-billed toucans move to lower areas during the winter. After they have their young, some toucans move from natural forests into plantations or farms.
Feeding Habits
Green-billed toucans mainly eat fruits. They eat fruits from both native plants and plants brought in by people. They also eat green coffee beans and fruit from orchards. Sometimes, they eat insects and small birds.
They usually look for food in pairs or small groups. But sometimes, 20 or more toucans might gather to feed. They mostly find food in the tops of trees. However, they will also pick up fallen fruit from the ground.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Green-billed toucans breed at different times depending on where they live. In the southern part of their range, they breed from October to February. In the north, they breed from January to June. Each pair of toucans protects their own breeding area.
Males will preen (clean feathers) and offer food to females as part of their courtship. These birds make their nests in holes in trees. These holes can be natural, or they can be old holes made by woodpeckers. If needed, the toucans will make the entrance hole or the cavity bigger. The bottom of the nest often has a layer of seeds that the birds have spit out. Nests are usually found from 0.7 to 6.0 meters (2 to 20 ft) above the ground.
A female toucan usually lays two to four eggs. Both the male and female toucans take turns sitting on the eggs to keep them warm. They also both feed the baby toucans once they hatch. The eggs hatch in about 16 to 19 days. The young birds are ready to fly about 40 to 50 days after they hatch.
Sounds and Calls
The green-billed toucan is known as one of the "croaker" toucans. Its song is a loud, rough "WRèh" or "niuh" sound. They also make a long series of noisy honking "grrekk" notes. Other sounds include low "ek", "zneep", and growl-like begging sounds. They also clap their beaks together and rattle their tongues inside their beaks.
Conservation Status
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) first listed the green-billed toucan as "Near Threatened." But since 2004, they have changed its status to "Least Concern." This means it is not currently at high risk of disappearing.
The green-billed toucan lives across a very large area. We don't know exactly how many there are, but their numbers are thought to be going down. No immediate big threats have been found. It is generally considered to be "reasonably common." It lives in several protected areas. Outside these areas, it is sometimes hunted or seen as a pest for eating fruit from farms.
See also
In Spanish: Tucán bicolor para niños
