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Toucans
Toucans (, ) are Neotropical birds in the family Ramphastidae. They are most closely related to the Toucan barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful bills. The family includes five genera and over 40 different species. Toucans are arboreal and typically lay two to four white eggs in their nests. They make their nests in tree hollows and holes excavated by other animals such as woodpeckers—the toucan bill has very limited use as an excavation tool. When the eggs hatch, the young emerge completely naked, without any down. Toucans are resident breeders and do not migrate. Toucans are usually found in pairs or small flocks. They sometimes fence with their bills and wrestle, which scientists hypothesize they do to establish dominance hierarchies. In Africa and Asia, hornbills occupy the toucans' ecological niche, an example of convergent evolution. Taxonomy and systematics The name of this bird group is derived from the Tupi word ''tukana'' or the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramphastos
The ''Ramphastos'' genus, also known as toucans, is a genus of brightly colored, tropical birds that are found throughout Central and South America from Southern Mexico to the southern cone of the South American continent. Toucans are typically characterized by their large, colorful bills, which are used for a variety of functions such as thermoregulation, feeding, and social signaling. Taxonomy The genus ''Ramphastos'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. The name is from Ancient Greek ῥαμφηστης/''rhamphēstēs'' meaning "snouted" (from ῥαμφη/''rhampē'' meaning "bill"). The type species was later designated by Nicholas Aylward Vigors as the white-throated toucan (''Ramphastos tucanus''). Species The genus contains eight species: Former species Some authorities, either presently or formerly, recognize additional species or subspecies as species belonging to the genus ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toco Toucan
The toco toucan (''Ramphastos toco'') is a species of bird in the toucan Family (biology), family Ramphastidae. It is the largest species of toucan and has a distinctive appearance, with a black body, a white throat, chest and uppertail-Covert (feather), coverts, and red undertail-coverts. Its most conspicuous feature is its massive beak, which is yellow-orange with a black base and large spot on the tip. It is endemic to South America, where it has a wide distribution from the Guianas south to northern Argentina and Uruguay, and its range has recently been expanding southwards. Unlike other toucans, which inhabit continuous forests, toco toucans inhabit a variety of semi-open habitats at altitudes of up to 1,750 m (5,740 ft). They are especially common in the Brazilian cerrado, gallery forests, and the wetlands of the Pantanal. Toco toucans mainly feed on fleshy fruits, but also supplement their diets with insects, eggs, and the nestlings of other birds. They will eat any availa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aulacorhynchus
Green toucanets are near-passerine birds from the genus ''Aulacorhynchus'' in the toucan family. They are native to Mexico, and Central and South America. All are found in humid forests and woodlands in highlands, but a few also occur in adjacent lowlands.Short, L. L., & Horne, J. F. M. (2002). Toucans (Ramphastidae). pp. 220-272 in del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Sargatal, J. eds. (2002). ''Handbook of the Birds of the World.'' Vol. 7 Jacamars to Woodpecker. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. They are relatively small toucans, long, with colorful, mainly green, plumage. They are typically seen in pairs or small groups, and sometimes follow mixed species flocks.Restall, R. L., Rodner, C., & Lentino, M. (2006). ''Birds of Northern South America.'' Christopher Helm, London. (vol. 1). (vol. 2). Taxonomy and systematics A major Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy review in 1974 resulted in 6 species in the genus ''Aulacorhynchus'', and this was adopted by virtually all later authorities.Remsen, J. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Semnornis
The toucan-barbets are small birds in the genus ''Semnornis''. The genus was often included in the paraphyletic Capitonidae, barbets, but recently is usually classified into a distinct family (biology), family, Semnornithidae; alternatively, all barbets might be moved to the toucan family toucan, Ramphastidae as a subfamily, Semnornithinae. Toucan-barbets comprise only two species: the toucan barbet (''S. ramphastinus'') and the prong-billed barbet (''S. frantzii''). Taxonomy The Phylogenetics, phylogenetic relationship between the toucan-barbets and the eight other families in the Order (biology), order Piciformes is shown in the cladogram below. The number of species in each family is taken from the list maintained by Frank Gill (ornithologist), Frank Gill, Pamela C. Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC). Description The ''Semnornis'' barbets are fairly large barbets, measuring between . The toucan barbet is larger than the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selenidera
''Selenidera'' is a bird genus containing six species of dichromatic toucanets in the toucan family Ramphastidae. They are found in lowland rainforest (below ) in tropical South America with one species in Central America. All the species have green upper-parts, red undertail-coverts and a patch of bare blue or blue-green skin around the eye. Unlike most other toucans, the sexes are different in colour (sexually dichromatic; hence the name dichromatic toucanets). The males all have a black crown, nape, throat and breast and an orange/yellow auricular streak. The females of most species have the black sections in the male replaced by rich brown and a reduced/absent auricular streak, while the female of one species, the Guianan toucanet, has grey underparts and a rufous nuchal collar, and the female of another, the yellow-eared toucanet, resemble the male except for its brown crown and lack of an auricular streak. The calls are low-pitched and croaking. Most species are relatively s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aracari
An aracari or araçari ( , , ) is any of the medium-sized toucans that, together with the saffron toucanet, make up the genus ''Pteroglossus''. They are brightly plumaged and have enormous, contrastingly patterned bills. These birds are residents in forests and woodlands in the Neotropics. Taxonomy The genus ''Pteroglossus'' was introduced in 1811 by the German zoologist Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger. The name combines the Ancient Greek ''pteron'' meaning "feather" with ''glōssa'' meaning "tongue". George Robert Gray designated the black-necked aracari as the type species of the genus in 1840. The name "Aracari" was used in 1648 by the German naturalist Georg Marcgrave for the black-necked aracari in his book ''Historia Naturalis Brasiliae''. The name comes from the word ''Arassari'', the name of the bird in the Tupi language. One species, the distinctive saffron toucanet, was formerly placed in the monotypic genus ''Baillonius'', but Renato Kimura and collaborators showed in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plate-billed Mountain Toucan
The plate-billed mountain toucan (''Andigena laminirostris'') is a species of bird in the family Ramphastidae. It is native to the west slope of Ecuador and extreme southern Colombia, where it lives in the high-altitude humid mountain forests of the Andes. Common names of the species include- laminated hill-toucan, laminated mountain-toucan, and plain-billed mountain-toucan. Description Plate-billed Mountain-Toucans have a large laterally compressed bill, the front half of which is black and the back half is mostly red with a raised yellow plate on the upper mandible, a unique feature for which the bird was named. They have a reddish brown iris and a bare ocular area that is yellow below and turquoise green above. The crown and nape are black and the rest of the upper parts are bronzy olive. The side of the neck and underparts are blue gray with a yellow patch on the flanks which is partially covered by the wings. There is a yellow rump patch, and its tail is black with chest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Convergent Evolution
Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last common ancestor of those groups. The cladistic term for the same phenomenon is Cladogram#Homoplasies, homoplasy. The recurrent evolution of flight is a classic example, as flying pterygota, insects, birds, pterosaurs, and bats have independently evolved the useful capacity of flight. Functionally similar features that have arisen through convergent evolution are ''analogous'', whereas ''homology (biology), homologous'' structures or traits have a common origin but can have dissimilar functions. Bird, bat, and pterosaur wings are analogous structures, but their forelimbs are homologous, sharing an ancestral state despite serving different functions. The opposite of convergence is divergent evolution, where related species evolve different trai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tupi Language
Old Tupi, Ancient Tupi or Classical Tupi () is a classical Tupian language which was spoken by the indigenous Tupi people of Brazil, mostly those who inhabited coastal regions in South and Southeast Brazil. In the words of Brazilian tupinologist Eduardo Navarro, "it is the classical indigenous language of Brazil, and the one which had the utmost importance to the cultural and spiritual formation of the country". Old Tupi belongs to the Tupi–Guarani language family, and has a written history spanning the 16th, 17th, and early 18th centuries. In the early colonial period, Tupi was used as a ''lingua franca'' throughout Brazil by Europeans and Amerindians, and had literary usage, but it was later suppressed almost to extinction. Today, its sole living descendant is the Nheengatu language. As the most important native language of Brazil, it is the origin of most city names of indigenous origin ( Pindamonhangaba, Ubatuba, Botucatu, Jacareí). It also names several plant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecological Niche
In ecology, a niche is the match of a species to a specific environmental condition. Three variants of ecological niche are described by It describes how an organism or population responds to the distribution of Resource (biology), resources and competitors (for example, by growing when resources are abundant, and when predators, parasites and pathogens are scarce) and how it in turn alters those same factors (for example, limiting access to resources by other organisms, acting as a food source for predators and a consumer of prey). "The type and number of variables comprising the dimensions of an environmental niche vary from one species to another [and] the relative importance of particular environmental variables for a species may vary according to the geographic and biotic contexts". See also Chapter 2: Concepts of niches, pp. 7 ''ff'' A Grinnellian niche is determined by the habitat in which a species lives and its accompanying Behavioral ecology, behavioral adaptations. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Precociality And Altriciality
Precocial species in birds and mammals are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. They are normally nidifugous, meaning that they leave the nest shortly after birth or hatching. Altricial species are those in which the young are underdeveloped at the time of birth, but with the aid of their parents mature after birth. These categories form a continuum, without distinct gaps between them. In fish, this often refers to the presence or absence of a stomach: precocial larvae have one at the onset of first feeding whereas altricial fish do not. Depending on the species, the larvae may develop a functional stomach during metamorphosis (gastric) or remain stomachless (agastric). Precociality Precocial young have open eyes, hair or down, large brains, and are immediately mobile and somewhat able to flee from or defend themselves against predators. For example, with ground-nesting birds such as ducks or turkeys, the young are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guarani Language
Guarani (Avañe'ẽ), also called Paraguayan Guarani, is a language of South America that belongs to the Tupi–Guarani branch of the Tupian languages, Tupian language family. It is one of the two official languages of Paraguay (along with Spanish language, Spanish), where it is spoken by the majority of the population, and where half of the rural population are monolingual speakers of the language. Variants of the language are spoken by communities in neighboring countries including parts of northeastern Argentina, southeastern Bolivia and southwestern Brazil. It is a second official language of the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Corrientes Province, Corrientes since 2004 and in the Municipalities of Brazil, Brazilian city of Tacuru since 2010. Guarani is also one of the three official languages of Mercosur, alongside Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Guarani is one of the most widely spoken indigenous languages of the Americas, Native American langu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
