The
Channel-billed Toucan (Ramphastos vitellinus) is a toucan that found on
the Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana and in
tropical South America, in the southeastern Amazon, as far south as
southern Brazil, north-western Venezuela and central Bolivia. Normally
they found in the forest and woodlands areas, extend into drier regions
particularly along water ways. Moreover they can also found in lowlands
areas, but may wander up to an altitude of 1700 meters. The
Channel-Billed Toucan upper plumage, abdomen, tail and bill are black;
however upper-tail and under-tail feathers are red. Moreover, the bare
eye-patch, bill base are blue and throat is white, and chest is
yellow-orange fading to white on the sides. The irises are dark brown
and lower chest sharply contrast with a broad red band. The mating
ritual is a fun-loving affair for toucans, as they throw fruit to one
another.
Just
like others toucans, the channel-billed has huge bill, typically 48 cm
long and 9 to 14 cm bill and 300 to 430 g weighs. It is very akin to
Cuvier’s Toucan (Ramphastos tucanus cuvieri) make you confused. The
Channel-Billed likes to eat fruit, but can intake insects, tiny
reptiles, eggs, and frogs. Vocally, the channel-billed toucan is very
conspicuous bird. Its call is a repeated, high pitched single note and
it can be described like a croak or yelping sound cree-op cree-op
cree-op. As it makes each note of sound, it lifts and drops its head
while holding its tail feathers erect and making side to side movements
on its perch and pairs of channel-billed toucans tend to communicate
vocally in an irregular chorus. The Channel-Billed fairly long-lived
with a lifespan is 20 years. The captive toucans cannot learn to talk
like parrots, but they are very much quieter and friendly and easy
tamed. So far, global population size has not been quantified, but this
species is described as “fairly common”.
The
male and female birds are very active in raising the newborns. The
Channel-billed Toucan breeds between March and June and during breeding
season, one of these Toucans would lay between two and four eggs which
are incubated by both the male and female in a high unlined tree cavity,
have generation period of 18 days, and incubate for 15 to 16 days.
Although in some cases, they can be impatient sitters, often leaving
their eggs uncovered for hours at a time. The newborn channel-billed is
blind and naked at birth and open their eyes after three weeks. Moreover
breeding in captivity requires attention to a number of details; even
successful breeder’s rates as low as 30% for the incubation of eggs.
The
young channel-billed remain in the nest after hatching and have short
bills and specialized pads on their heels to protect them from rough
floor of the nest. Their feathers do not start appearing until 4 weeks
old. Moreover, they’re stranded and unable to leave the nest for about 8
weeks, dependent upon both parents to feed them. After this, the young
can care for themselves. They start to leave the nest after 40 to 50
days, depending on bird size. Channel-billed toucans reside in small
families including of two parents and young. They may also form small
flocks numbering 3 to 12 individuals. Oftentimes they’ve joined groups
of other bird species including other toucan species to feed. When
travelling, they mostly fly alone, in pairs or in straggling groups
arranged in single file.
Amusingly,
the babies are born with a smaller bill which takes more than a few
months to reach full size. Thus, not only has the Toucan amazed the
world with its majestic beauty but it has also mystified the world. For
long times biologists have been captivated by the Toucan’s outstanding
beak. Why was it so large? Therefore, some advised that it aided in the
picking of fruit, while the others, that it was a deterrent to
competition. Thus, a new research has revealed that the beak in fact
supports regulate the Toucan’s body temperature. This species is
suspected to lose population due to its extent of appropriate habitat in
the Amazonian portion of its range over 35 years. By taking the
pessimistic scenario of forest loss and factoring in the species’
susceptibility to hunting, fragmentation and edge-effects, it is
suspected to decline by 32.1% over three generations from 2000.Source: Charismatic Planet
You can find more detail about toucans at
Wikipedia Click Here.
