Wagler's toucanet (''Aulacorhynchus wagleri'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

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

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to southwestern Mexico.

Taxonomy and systematics

Wagler's toucanet was originally described in the genus '' Pteroglossus''. It was long considered one of many subspecies of the then emerald toucanet (''Aulacorhynchus prasinus'' ''

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

''). In 2008 the

International Ornithological Committee The International Ornithologists' Union, formerly known as the International Ornithological Committee, is a group of about 200 international ornithologists, and is responsible for the International Ornithological Congress and other international ...

(IOC) split 10 of those subspecies to create seven new species, one of which is Wagler's toucanet, and retained four of them as subspecies of their current

emerald toucanet The emerald toucanet (''Aulacorhynchus prasinus'') is a species of near-passerine bird in the toucan family Ramphastidae. It is found from Mexico to Nicaragua. Taxonomy and systematics The emerald toucanet was originally described in the genu ...

sensu stricto ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

''.

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

Handbook of the Birds of the World The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. T ...

concurred. However, the North and South American Classification Committees of the

American Ornithological Society The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its m ...

and the

Clements taxonomy ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'' is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world. The most recent printed version is the sixth edition (2007), but has been updated yearly, the last version in 2022 ...

declined to follow them. In 2017 they did split the emerald toucanet into two species, the northern (''A. prasinus'') and southern (''A. albivitta'') emerald-toucanets, each with seven subspecies. They treat "Wagler's" as a subspecies of the northern emerald-toucanet.HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip retrieved December 13, 2022Chesser, R. T., S. M. Billerman, K. J. Burns, C. Cicero, J. L. Dunn, B. E. Hernández-Baños, R. A. Jiménez, A. W. Kratter, N. A. Mason, P. C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen, Jr., D. F. Stotz, and K. Winker. 2022. Check-list of North American Birds (online). American Ornithological Society. https://checklist.aou.org/taxaRemsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 July 2022. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved July 24, 2022Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 10, 2022 Wagler's toucanet as defined by the IOC is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

Description

Like other toucans, Wagler's toucanet is brightly colored and has a large bill. The adult is long and weighs about . The sexes are alike in appearance, although the female generally is smaller and slightly shorter-billed. Their bill is black with a wide yellow stripe along its culmen and an orangey brown vertical stripe at its base. Their plumage is mainly green like that of other members of genus ''Aulacorhynchus'', and is somewhat lighter below than above. Their forecrown is yellowish white darkening to olive on the crown and lightening down the nape. Their eye is dark reddish brown surrounded by even darker bare skin. Their lower face and throat are white with some blue as they transition to the underparts. Their 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 ...

and the underside of the tail are chestnut. The base of their tail's upper surface is green becoming blue towards the end and the tips of the feathers are chestnut. Immatures are grayer than adults and the chestnut of the tail tips is browner and smaller.Schulenberg, T. S., A. M. Contreras-González, C. I. Rodríguez-Flores, C. A. Soberanes-González, M. d. C. Arizmendi, and K. Powell (2020). Northern Emerald-Toucanet (''Aulacorhynchus prasinus''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.noremt1.01 retrieved December 16, 2022

Distribution and habitat

Wagler's toucanet is found in the

Sierra Madre del Sur The Sierra Madre del Sur is a mountain range in southern Mexico, extending from southern Michoacán east through Guerrero, to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in eastern Oaxaca. Geography The Sierra Madre del Sur joins with the Eje Volcánico Transv ...

of southwestern Mexico's

Guerrero Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...

and the western part of

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

states. It primarily inhabits humid

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 ...

but is also found in more open landscapes like

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. ...

, shrublands, pastures, and plantations.

Behavior

Movement

Wagler's toucanet is non-migratory.

Social behavior

Wagler's toucanet is gregarious and frequently gathers in groups of up to about 10.

Feeding

Wagler's toucanet forages by gleaning, usually while perched. Its diet is eclectic and includes a wide variety of fruits, invertebrates of many

orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

, and vertebrate prey such as birds, eggs, lizards, and snakes.

Breeding

The breeding season of Wagler's toucanet is from March to July. It nests in tree cavities, either natural or those abandoned by woodpeckers. They can be as high as above the ground. The typical clutch size is three or four but can range from one to five. Both sexes incubate the eggs but the female does so more than the male. The incubation period is 16 days and fledging occurs 42 to 45 days after hatch.

Vocal and non-vocal sounds

The main vocalization of Wagler's toucanet is "low, frog-like notes, repeated steadily, ''rronk- rronk- rronk or wup-wup-wup''...often with more emphatic notes thrown in to break up an otherwise monotonous repetition". In flight its wings make a whirring sound.

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 Wagler's toucanet as being of Least Concern. Though its population size is not known, it is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified. However, it "is vulnerable to habitat destruction" and "subject to special protection" under Mexican law.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q40453 Aulacorhynchus Birds described in 1841