Order: PICIFORMES

Family: RAMPHASTIDAE

It is distinguished from other green toucans by its red rump and its song is a quasi, something nasal and repeated. Its name Aulacorhynchus comes from the Greek aulax which means furrow and rhunkhos which means beak. The epithet haematopygus comes from the Greek haima, which means blood, and pugus, which means rump.

Description

It measures 40 to 45 cm, weighs 141 to 232 g and its peak measures 76 to 81mm. It has a mainly dark red bill with a base outlined in white, a flat black top at its base and a lower jaw with a black central portion. Its body is mainly green with a red rump. It has a bare orange-brown eye area, a blue area on the sides of the chest, above and below the eye, and the central 2 or 3 pairs of tail feathers with brown tips. The female has a shorter bill and the immature ones have duller plumage and orange rump.

Similar species

It can be confused with the Emerald Toucan (Aulacorhynchus prasinus) and the Yellow-billed Toucan (Aulacorhynchus sulcatus), but it differs from them, due to the unmistakable red rump and dark red beak.

Regional Differences

Two subspecies are recognized: A. h. haematopygus and A. h. sexnotatus. The nominal breed is found in the northern, central and southwestern Andes of the country and the sexnotatus breed is found in the extreme south-west, it is smaller with less blue in the plumage and more red in the beak.

Distribution

It is found in western Venezuela, Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. In Colombia it is distributed between 800 and 2,100 m above sea level (occasionally at altitudes below 300m) on the Pacific slope of the Western Cordillera. Also in the Serranía de Perijá and along the Western and Central mountain ranges from the headwaters of the San Juan River to the south. In the Eastern Cordillera south to the latitude of Bogotá.

Habitat

It is normally found in the middle and upper strata of humid and very humid forests. It also lives in premontane and montane forests and in secondary mountains. Occasionally on trees scattered in fruit in grasslands and gardens.

Feeding

It feeds especially on fruits such as Yarumos (Cecropia spp.), Palms and plants of the Lauraceae family. In its diet also includes invertebrates, small vertebrates and young and eggs of birds.

Reproduction

In the Western Cordillera individuals in reproductive condition have been recorded in the month of April and in the Central Cordillera in the months from March to May. Incubation of the eggs is largely carried out by the female, which can last from 16 to 17 days. The chicks are fully fledged after six weeks and start to fly at the seventh week.

Behavior

Like other species of the genus, it remains in pairs or small groups and sometimes mixed flocks can follow. It is a noisy bird, lurking from the undergrowth to the canopy, leaping up between the trees.

Taxonomy

Some authors consider that it forms a superspecies together with Aulacorynchus huallagae (from Peru) and A. coeruleicinctis (from Peru and Bolivia). Genetic analyzes have shown that it may be a sister species to these last two, as well as A. derbianus (North of South America) and A. sulcatus (Colombia and Venezuela).

State of conservation

In the world and in Colombia it is not considered a threatened species (its conservation is of minor concern)

Curiosities

This and other species of Toucans can prey on smaller birds and eggs.

Vocalization / Voice

https://www.xeno-canto.org/38830

References

 Avibase 2011. Aulacorhynchus haematopygus Downloaded from http: //avibase.bsc eoc.org/species.jsp?lang=ES&avibaseid=23DB835648606957 on 07/18/2011

Jobling, C. 2010. The Helm dictionary of scientific birds names. Christopher Helm and A & C Black Publishers Ltda. London.

Hilty, S. L. and W. L. Brown. 2001. Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Princetn. Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ.

IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 28 July 2011.

Remsen, J. V., Jr., C. D. Cadena, A. Jaramillo, M. Nores, J. F. Pacheco, J. Pérez-Emán, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, D. F. Stotz, and K. J. Zimmer. Version September 21, 2011. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithologists’ Union. http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.html

Short, L & J. Horne. Andigena hypoglauca. Pp 259 In: Del-Hoyo, J., Elliot, A. and Sardatal, J. 2002. Handbook of the Birds of the Wold. Vol 7. Jacamars to Woodpeckers. Lynx editions. Barcelona. 613p.

Maps Fajardo, D. 2015. Red-bellied toucan (Aulacorhynchus haematopygus). Maps Birds of Colombia. Calidris Association. https://sites.google.com/site/mapasave