Spot-billed toucanet

The spot-billed toucanet (Selenidera maculirostris) is a near-passerine bird in the toucan family Ramphastidae.[2] It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.[3]

Spot-billed toucanet
Male in Brazil
Female in Brazil
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Ramphastidae
Genus: Selenidera
Species:
S. maculirostris
Binomial name
Selenidera maculirostris
Synonyms
  • Pteroglossus maculirostris

Taxonomy and systematics

The spot-billed toucanet was originally described in the genus Pteroglossus.[4] It has at times been considered conspecific with Gould's toucanet (S. gouldii) and the two are sister species.[5] It is monotypic.[2]

Description

The spot-billed toucanet is 33 to 37 cm (13 to 15 in) long and weighs 137 to 193 g (4.8 to 6.8 oz). Males and females have the same bill pattern but the female's bill is shorter. The bill has a thin vertical black line at its base. The bill is mostly ivory at the base to greenish-yellow at the tip. The middle of the culmen is black, the maxilla has three to five vertical black stripes, and the mandible has a black patch near the end. Both sexes have bare green-yellow to blue skin arond the eye and a golden-yellow tuft of feathers behind it; both are paler in the female. Adult males have a black head, nape, chin, throat, and belly. Their upperparts are green with a yellow band on the lower neck. Their tail is green with chestnut tips on the central three pairs of feathers. Their flanks are yellow and their undertail coverts are red. Females have chestnut to cinnamon-rufous where the male has black. Immatures are duller overall, usually without a yellow band on the back, and their bill's pattern is not sharp.[6]

Distribution and habitat

The spot-billed toucanet is found in Brazil from the states of Bahia and Minas Gerais south and into eastern Paraguay and Argentina's Misiones Province. It is a bird of the Atlantic Forest where it is found in old-growth and secondary forest, selectively logged and remnant forest, palm groves, and gallery forest at the edges of the cerrado. In elevation it ranges from sea level to at least 1,000 m (3,300 ft).[6]

Behavior

Movement

As far as is known, the spot-billed toucanet is a year-round resident throughout its range.[6]

Feeding

The spot-billed toucanet forages from the undergrowth up to the forest's mid-storey, singly, in pairs, or in small groups. Its diet is known to include fruit and some vertebrates but details are lacking.[6]

Breeding

The spot-billed toucanet's breeding season is from December to June in the northern part of its range and from October to January in the southern part. In the wild it nests in tree cavities, and both sexes provision young birds, but almost nothing else is known about its natural breeding biology. In captivity the clutch size is two or three, the incubation period is about 15 days, and time to fledging is about six to seven weeks.[6]

Vocal and non-vocal sounds

The spot-billed toucanet makes "[g]ruff, growling 'ggrooaw' to 'kkrowk' notes in series". The sexes usually sing one at a time. It also makes "low 'tut' notes, rattling notes, purring low notes, [and] bill-snapping sounds."[6]

Status

The IUCN has assessed the spot-billed toucanet as being of Least Concern. It has a large range but its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] It is common in some protected areas but locally threatened elsewhere. "Information [is] needed on breeding biology of wild birds."[6]

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Selenidera maculirostris.
  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Spot-billed Toucanet Selenidera maculirostris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22682093A92931021. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22682093A92931021.en. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  2. Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P., eds. (August 2022). "Jacamars, puffbirds, barbets, toucans, honeyguides". IOC World Bird List. v 12.2. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  3. Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 July 2022. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved July 24, 2022
  4. Lichtenstein, Martin H.C. (1823). Verzeichnifs der Doubletten des zoologischen Museums der Köngl. Universität zu Berlin nebst Beschreibung vieler bisher unbekannter Arten (in German). Berlin. p. 7. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  5. Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 July 2022. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved July 24, 2022
  6. Short, L.L. (2020). Spot-billed Toucanet (Selenidera maculirostris), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.spbtou1.01 retrieved December 29, 2022
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