The grey-breasted mountain toucan (''Andigena hypoglauca'') is a

Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

species of bird in the toucan family

Ramphastidae Toucans (, ) are members of the Neotropical near passerine bird family Ramphastidae. The Ramphastidae are most closely related to the American barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful bills. The family includes five gen ...

. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

Taxonomy and systematics

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

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are recognized, the

nominate Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list. Political office In the ...

''A. h. hypoglauca'' (

Gould Gould may refer to: People * Gould (name), a surname Places United States * Gould, Arkansas, a city * Gould, Colorado, an unincorporated community * Gould, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Gould, Oklahoma, a town * Gould, West Virginia, a ...

, 1833) and ''A. h. lateralis'' ( Chapman, 1923).

Description

The grey-breasted mountain toucan is long and weighs . Males and females within each subspecies have the same plumage, and the two subspecies have the same bill pattern though the female's bill is shorter. The bill's base is yellow to greenish with a black band near the base. The

maxilla The maxilla (plural: ''maxillae'' ) in vertebrates is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. The t ...

's outer 2/3 is red, meeting the yellow diagonally. The

mandible In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower tooth, teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movabl ...

's outer half is black. Both subspecies have a black cap, face, and nape; a gray-blue band on the hindneck; a greenish brown back; and gray to gray-blue underparts. Their tail is blackish with chestnut tips on the two or three central pairs of feathers. The nominate subspecies has a bright yellow rump, pale gray-blue flanks, chestnut thighs, and red undertail

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which, as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are sm ...

. Its eye is brown and surrounded by bare blue skin. Subspecies ''A. h. lateralis'' has a paler yellow rump than the nominate, pale yellow to gray-white flanks, and a yellow to green eye.Short, L.L. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan (''Andigena hypoglauca''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.gybmot1.01 retrieved 3 January 2023

Distribution and habitat

The nominate subspecies of grey-breasted mountain toucan is found from central and southern Colombia into eastern Ecuador. ''A. h. lateralis'' is found from eastern Ecuador south well into Peru. The species inhabits wet temperate

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

including

cloud In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may co ...

elfin Elfin may refer to: *ELFIN, a CubeSat developed by University of California, Los Angeles *Elfin (steamboat), a steamboat that ran on Lake Washington from 1891 to 1900 *Elfin of Alt Clut, ruler of Alt Clut, seventh century Scotland *Elfin, a charac ...

, and

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

. In elevation it mostly ranges between though it is found as low as in Peru and in Ecuador.

Behavior

Movement

The grey-breasted mountain toucan is not known to have a pattern of movement.

Feeding

The grey-breasted mountain toucan forages from near the ground up to the forest's canopy, singly, in pairs, or in small groups that might be extended families. It sometimes joins

mixed-species foraging flock A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species that join each other and move together while foraging. These ar ...

s. Its diet is known to include fruit and berries and is assumed to also include some vertebrates.

Breeding

The grey-breasted mountain toucan's breeding season spans from December to February in Colombia and from June or July to November in Ecuador and Peru. Nothing else is know about its breeding biology.

Vocal and non-vocal sounds

The grey-breasted mountain toucan's song is a "low 'gweeeeeeeat'". Its calls include "wek" notes made singly or in a series, and "kek" notes in alarm or aggression. Songs and calls can include "bill-whacking".

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed the grey-breasted mountain toucan as Near Threatened. Its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. The principal threat is deforestation from expanding agriculture, mining, and logging. Though it occurs in some protected areas and is thought to be locally common, " pulation fragmentation and inbreeding are possible problems".

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q642262 grey-breasted mountain toucan Birds of the Northern Andes grey-breasted mountain toucan Taxonomy articles created by Polbot