Plate-billed Mountain Toucan

Overview

The plate-billed mountain toucan (Andigena laminirostris) is a species of bird in the family Ramphastidae. It is classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN due to habitat loss and poaching for the exotic bird trade.

Identification

• Possesses a large, laterally compressed bill up to 10 cm long, with the front half black and the back half red, featuring a unique raised yellow plate on the upper mandible.
• Measuring 42 to 53 cm in length, it displays bronzy olive upperparts, blue-gray underparts with a yellow flank patch, and a black tail with chestnut tips.
• Features reddish-brown irises and a bare ocular area that is yellow below and turquoise green above.
• Vocalisations include a loud, repeating 'tryyyyyyyk' from the male and a drier 't't't't't't't' from the female, with rattles and clicks audible from over a kilometer away.

Habitat

Native to the western slopes of Ecuador and extreme southern Colombia, the species inhabits high-altitude humid mountain forests of the Andes. It occupies elevations between 1600 and 2600 metres, though it has been observed up to 3100 metres, typically in forests with abundant epiphytes, bromeliads, and mosses.

Diet

Feeds mainly on fruit, but occasionally consumes insects and eggs. It acts as a seed disperser for plants such as Faramea affinis and Prestoea acuminata, and has been reported to eat caecilians.

Did you know?

The bird is the most vocal of the mountain toucans, with its rattles and clicks loud enough to be heard from over a kilometer away.