Grey-breasted mountain toucan

Grey-breasted mountain toucan
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Piciformes
Family:	Ramphastidae
Genus:	Andigena
Species:	A. hypoglauca
Binomial name
Andigena hypoglauca (Gould, 1833)
Subspecies
See text
Range of Grey brested mountain toucan
Synonyms
Pteroglossus hypoglaucus

Peru, 2013

The grey-breasted mountain toucan (Andigena hypoglauca) is a species of bird in the family Ramphastidae found in humid highland forest, often at the tops of the trees, in the Andes of southern Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. It remains locally fairly common, but has declined due to habitat loss.

Taxonomy and systematics

The grey-breasted mountain toucan was originally described in the genus Pteroglossus.

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized:

• A. h. hypoglauca - (Gould, 1833): Found from central Colombia to eastern Ecuador
• A. h. lateralis - Chapman, 1923: Found in eastern Ecuador and central Peru

Description

This species is distinguished from other mountain toucans by its colorful bill: red and black at the tip and yellow-green at the base, where there is a black, thumbprint-shaped mark. The black head is set off from the chestnut-brown back by a pale gray collar. the northern nominate subspecies has dark eyes, while the southern A. h. lateralis has pale eyes. Total length of the gray-breasted mountain toucan is 46–48 cm (18–19 in) long and weight is 244-370 grams (8.6-13.1 oz).

Behaviour and ecology

A wide variety of fruits and berries are eaten and this species is often more willing than most largish toucans to leave the canopy to eat raspberries near the base of the trees. They tend to remain quiet while flying and are known to mix often with other birds while foraging, including larger species of tanagers, thrushes and icterids, both behavior unusual in toucans. Very little is known about the life history details for this species.