Yellow-throated Toucan - BirdForum Opus

Chestnut-mandibled Toucan, Subspecies swainsonii
Photo © by max1
Maquenque, NE Costa Rica, February 2019

Alternative name: Black-mandibled Toucan

Ramphastos ambiguus

Includes: Chestnut-mandibled Toucan

Identification

Subspecies swainsonii
Photo © by Jim Crosswell
Manys Place, Uvita, Costa Rica, February 2009

47-61 cm (18½-24 in). The bill measures approximately 18 cm. Females are smaller.
Dark maroon tail, back, and head may appear black in some lighting conditions. The face, neck, and chest is bright yellow with a subtle lime-green mask around a dark eye. A thin red line separates the breast from the belly, which is the same dark maroon as the back. Red crissum, white tail coverts, and blue legs.

However, the huge distinctive bicolor bill is adequate in itself for identification, with the lower mandible and triangular section of upper mandible closest to the face colored chestnut, and the rest of the upper mandible lemon yellow.
The juvenile is similar, but duller.

Variations

Black-mandibled Toucan, R. a. ambiguus/abbreviatus

Distribution

From Honduras and Nicaragua south to Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.

Taxonomy

R. swainsonii (Chestnut-mandibled Toucan) is sometimes recognized as full species.

Subspecies

There are 3 subspecies^[1]:

• R. a. abbreviatus:

• Northeastern Colombia (west slope of the Eastern Andes south to the central Magdalena Valley) and northwestern and northern Venezuela

• R. a. ambiguus:

• Eastern Andes from southern Colombia (upper Magdalena Valley) to central Peru

• R. a. swainsonii

• Humid forests of northern Honduras to western Ecuador

Habitat

Humid montane and lowland forest and forest edges. Old secondary growth. Found at heights from 100-2400 m.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet consists mostly of fruit, but will also take insects, lizards, and bird eggs. Forages mainly in the canopy.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Feb 2018)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Yellow-throated Toucan. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 8 February 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Yellow-throated_Toucan

External Links

Search for photos of Yellow-throated Toucan in the gallery

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1