Bird Guide

Black-billed Mountain Toucan vs Plate-billed Mountain Toucan

Black-billed Mountain Toucan (Andigena nigrirostris)

Black-billed Mountain Toucan

Andigena nigrirostris

Large350 gForest

The three subspecies of black-billed mountain toucan have almost the same plumage. They have a black cap and nape and bronzy upperparts with a pale yellow rump. Their tail is dark slate with chestnut tips on the central two or three pairs of feathers. Their face and throat are white becoming pale blue on the breast; their thighs are chestnut and their undertail coverts are red. Bare skin surrounds their eye; it is pale blue before it and yellow or orange behind. Subspecies A. n. occidentalis' plumage differs from that of the other two only by having darker chestnut thighs.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Black-billed Mountain Toucan
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call · Sucumbíos: La Sofia road, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Christoph Moning · CC BY 4.0
Plate-billed Mountain Toucan (Andigena laminirostris)

Plate-billed Mountain Toucan

Andigena laminirostris

Large311 gForest

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. Voice: This is the most vocal of the mountain toucans, and the sexes often duet. The male makes a loud, repeating "tryyyyyyyk" sound and the female makes a drier "t't't't't't't't" noise. The bird utters rattles and clicks loud enough to be heard from over a kilometer away.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Plate-billed Mountain Toucan
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call · Pichincha: Tandayapa ridge 3 km SSW Tandayapa, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: The Lilac Breasted Roller from Sullivan's Island, United States · CC BY 2.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Black-billed Mountain Toucan and Plate-billed Mountain Toucan.