Collared aracari

The collared aracari or collared araçari (Pteroglossus torquatus) is a near-passerine bird in the toucan family Ramphastidae. It is found from Mexico to Colombia and Venezuela.[2]

Collared aracari
In Belize
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Ramphastidae
Genus: Pteroglossus
Species:
P. torquatus
Binomial name
Pteroglossus torquatus
(Gmelin, 1788)
Subspecies

See text

Synonyms
  • Ramphastos torquatus

Taxonomy and systematics

The collared aracari was originally classified in the genus Ramphastos. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) recognize three subspecies:[2][3]

  • The nominate P. t. torquatus - (Gmelin, 1788)
  • P. t. erythrozonus - Ridgway, 1912
  • P. t. nuchalis - Cabanis, 1862 (originally described as a separate species.[4])

The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society and the Clements taxonomy include two other subspecies that IOC and HBW separate as the stripe-billed aracari (P. sanguineus) and pale-mandibled aracari (P. erythropygius).[5][6][2][3]

This article follows the IOC/HBW three-subspecies model.

The red collar, which gives the bird its name, is visible on the back of the neck of this Costa Rican bird.

Description
Front

Like other toucans, the collared aracari is brightly marked and has a large bill. Adults are 38 to 41 cm (15 to 16 in) long and weigh 175 to 250 g (6.2 to 8.8 oz). Males and females have the same coloration of the bill and plumage but the female's bill is shorter than the male's. The three subspecies' bills are alike. The adult's bill has a narrow vertical white line at its base. Its maxilla is buffy white darkening to dull reddish brown at its base. Its tip and culmen are black. The maxilla has black and yellowish white notches. The bill's mandible is black. Adults of the nominate subspecies have mostly glossy black upperparts with a narrow cinnamon rufous collar at the base of the nape and bright red lower back, rump, and uppertail coverts. Their head, throat, and uppermost breast are greenish black. Their lower breast, belly, and undertail coverts are yellow. The breast has a variable red wash and a black spot in its center; the upper belly is crossed by a narrow red and black band. Their thighs are cinnamon to rufous. Juvenile collared aracaris are much duller than adults, with a sooty-black head and chest and brownish olive upperparts. The red rump and yellow underparts are paler, and the breast spot, belly band, and bill pattern are indistinct.[4]

Subspecies P. t. erythrozonus is similar to the nominate but smaller and has a much smaller breast spot or none at all. P. t. nuchalis is also similar to the nominate, but its breast spot is usually larger and the white basal line on the bill is wider.[4]

Distribution and habitat

The subspecies of collared aracari are found thus:[2][4]

  • P. t. torquatus, from east-central Mexico south through Central America to just into northwestern Colombia, but not on the Yucatán Peninsula
  • P. t. erythrozonus, southeastern Mexico including the Yucatán Peninsula, Belize, and northern Guatemala
  • P. t. nuchalis, northern Colombia and northern Venezuela

The collared aracari inhabits the interior and edges of evergreen primary forest and mature secondary forest and also coffee, cacao, and fruit plantations. In the semi-arid parts of northern Colombia and Venezuela it also occurs in gallery forest. In elevation it is found from sea level to about 1,000 m (3,300 ft).[4]

Behavior

Social behavior

Collared aracaris typically travel in groups of about six to 15 individuals that sometimes include other toucan species. They also roost communally; up to seven may occupy a cavity overnight.[4]

Feeding

The collared aracari's diet is mostly fruit but it also feeds on large insects, the eggs and nestlings of other birds, and other small vertebrates. It mostly forages from the forest's mid level to the canopy but will feed on fruits in the understory. They glean fruit by stretching from a perch, bending, and even hanging upside down. They regurgitate large fruit seeds which often remain viable.[4]

Upper body

Breeding

The collared aracari's breeding season is from January to May in most of its range. It nests in tree cavities, usually those excavated by large woodpeckers but also natural ones. They may enlarge the cavity, which can be up to 30 m (98 ft) above the ground. The clutch size is usually three eggs but can be as large as five. The incubation period is 16 to 17 days and both parents incubate. Fledging occurs 26 to 30 days after hatch. The parents and often up to three other adults provision the nestlings. They are fed mostly with insects when young.[4]

Vocal and non-vocal sounds

The collared aracari's most common call is described as "a high, sharp, squeaky, note, such as seek, pseek, pink or penk, or a two-parted pi-cheet or squi-zeek." They also make a "purr" and an "“aggressive, rasping grhhrr". A rattle call "bddddddt" may actually be non-vocal. Collared aracari's wings make an audible whir during flight.[4]

Status

The IUCN has assessed the collared aracari as being of Least Concern. It has an extremely large range but an unknown population size that is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] "[A]lthough it tolerates secondary forest, it nonetheless is very susceptible to deforestation" and is hunted by indigenous peoples.[4]

References
  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Collared Araçari Pteroglossus torquatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22726200A94914704. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22726200A94914704.en. Retrieved 23 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. HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip retrieved December 13, 2022
  4. Green, C. and R. Kannan (2020). Collared Aracari (Pteroglossus torquatus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.colara1.01 retrieved December 23, 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. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 10, 2022
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