Plate-billed mountain toucan

Description

The Andean toucan pechigris ( Andigena laminirostris ),in English known as Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan or Plate-Billed Mountain Toucan,is a species of the Ramphasidae family.He is a native of Colombia and Ecuador.They live in high humid montane forests of the Andes.It is one of the five species of the Andigena genus,known as mountain toucans.Other common names of this species are: hill-toucan (English),toucan montagnard (French),Leistenschnabeltukan (German),and toucan piquiplano (Spanish).The population density of Andigena laminirostris has been reduced by the fragmentation of its habitat due to deforestation.According to IUCN,its conservation status is "vulnerable",as the habitat provision is decreasing moderately fast.They are found mostly in humid cloud forests,subtropics and temperate mountain forests.Andigena laminirostris has a diet composed mainly of fruits and seeds,which is why they are considered frugivores;a characteristic feature of the Ramphastidae family.It has been frequently observed looking for food in groups of up to six individuals in the middle stratum of the forest.It feeds on at least 49 species of fruits and insects,especially coleoptera.Andigena laminirostris,has an approximate size of 42 to 53 cm in length and its peak is 10 cm long.The males have an average weight of 314 grams and the females 303 grams.They are characterized by having two toes pointing forward and two backward.The upper part of the wings is golden olive and the lower part is bright blue with lateral spots.The pileus and nape of the neck are black,the rump is bright yellow,and the thighs are reddish brown.The tail feathers are gray with dark green and red coats.The face has yellow and yellow-green spots and the iris is red.The beak is black with red and ivory areas.In Ecuador there are different forms of this species,one distributing to the north to the western napo,and the other to the south,reaching the northwest of Morona Santiago.Northern birds have a reddish-brown iris and half of the orange maxilla,while southern birds have a green-to-straw-green iris.The region of the periocular skin is black,the terminal half of the maxilla is pink;and the rest of the maxilla is usually yellow with a black base and a thin blue border.The head is relatively large with a grayish cervical band,an olive-tanned brown upper part,green wings,a rump with a band below grayish with red crissum and brown thighs.