Guianan Toucanet

The Guianan Toucanet is a compact member of the toucan family found in the forests of the Guiana Shield, smaller and more modestly proportioned than the large well-known toucans but still showing the family's characteristic oversized, colorful bill. Males have a black head and throat, olive-green to dark upperparts, and a bill that is mostly dark with pale coloring toward the base and tip depending on subspecies.

Females differ noticeably from males, showing a rich chestnut-brown cap in place of the male's black head, a form of plumage dimorphism found in several toucanet species within the genus Selenidera. Both sexes share yellow to orange patches on the flanks or lower underparts and a relatively short tail compared to large toucans.

Like other toucans, the Guianan Toucanet is primarily a canopy-dwelling fruit-eater, moving through the forest in small groups or pairs and using its large bill to reach and manipulate fruit as well as to serve social and thermoregulatory functions.

Key field marks

• Male: black head and throat, olive-dark upperparts, mostly dark bill
• Female: chestnut-brown cap replacing the male's black head
• Yellow to orange patch on the flanks or lower underparts
• Smaller and shorter-tailed than large toucan species

Similar species

Golden-collared Toucanet and other Selenidera toucanets are similar in size and structure but occur in different, generally non-overlapping ranges; within the Guiana Shield, the Guianan Toucanet's bill pattern and range help confirm identification against other small toucans in the area.

Habitat

The Guianan Toucanet inhabits the canopy and mid-story of humid lowland forest, generally favoring undisturbed or lightly disturbed forest.

Range

It is restricted to the Guiana Shield region, including Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and adjacent northern Brazil.

Migration

It is a non-migratory, sedentary resident of its forest range.

Behavior

Guianan Toucanets are usually seen in pairs or small family groups moving through the canopy, hopping along branches rather than engaging in prolonged flight, typical of toucans generally.

Voice

Its calls include a repeated, croaking or frog-like series of notes, distinct from the more complex calls of larger toucan species.

Feeding

It feeds mainly on fruit, supplemented by insects and occasionally small vertebrates or the eggs and nestlings of other birds, using its large bill to reach and manipulate food items.

Nesting and breeding

Like other toucans, it nests in a natural tree cavity or an abandoned woodpecker hole, where the female lays her eggs and both parents help incubate and feed the chicks.