Plate 002 · with a wild fig IdentificationSix marks on the plate
- 1Huge orange bill with a red line along the top ridge.
- 2Black spot at the tip of the upper mandible.
- 3Bare orange skin and a blue ring around the eye.
- 4White throat with a yellow wash at the edge.
- 5White rump above the black tail.
- 6Red undertail coverts, visible below the black belly.
Easily confused with Red-breasted ToucanRamphastos dicolorusOnly in Misiones. Pale green bill, yellow and red breast. 002 / 100 · BIRDS · RAMPHASTIDAELEAST CONCERN Toco Toucan
Ramphastos toco
Tucán grande · Common Toucan
It was thought to be extinct in Tucumán. Clearing of the foothill forest and trapping for the pet trade had wiped it from the province. New records from the La Sala valley, beside the Sierra de San Javier, were published in 2011, and it is now seen again in the northern Yungas of Tucumán.
- Length
- c. 55 – 61 cm
- Bill
- c. 19 cm, a third of its length
- Altitude
- c. 400 – 1,500 m
- Nest
- Tree hole, 2 – 4 eggs
- Back in Tucumán
- Seed disperser
- Cavity nester
- Foothill forest
Altitude rangeA bird of the lower forest
Foothill and lower montane forest In Argentina it is most common in the low and middle Yungas. In Tucumán it is recorded mainly in the foothills of the north and centre of the province.
FoodFruit, and then some
- Wild figsFicus · higuerón
- Fleshy fruitsforest berries and drupes
- Eggs and nestlingsraids other birds’ nests
- Large insectsmainly when breeding
It swallows fruit whole and later regurgitates or passes the seeds far from the tree. That helps the forest regrow.
BehaviourA bill for every job
- Heat radiator. The bill is rich in blood vessels. The bird controls how much heat it sheds through it.
- In pairs or small groups. Flies from tree to tree in a line, flapping then gliding.
- Cavity nester. Uses holes in trees or banks. Both parents incubate and feed the young.
Where to look in Tucumán- Sierra de San Javier
- Reserva Experimental Horco Molle
- Valle de La Sala
- La Higuera (Burruyacú)