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Toucans & Aracaris

Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan

Andigena laminirostris

• epic
• 42 km/h
• Near Threatened

Lives high in the Ecuadorian cloud forest. Has a yellow plate on its upper bill for reasons still debated by scientists.

Population

10,000–19,999 mature individuals (BirdLife/IUCN estimate)

Habitat

Humid montane (cloud) forest on the western Andean slope, typically 1,200–2,500 m elevation (occasionally down to 300 m or up to ~3,200–3,500 m), rich in epiphytes, bromeliads and mosses; tolerates secondary and selectively logged forest but is highly forest-dependent, relying on large trees for nesting

Fun fact

Its huge bill — pale bluish-green above with a black lower edge and a black band across the tip — looks like layered plates, which is where the "plate-billed" name comes from.

Range

Western slope of the Andes from Nariño, southwestern Colombia, south through Ecuador to about Azuay/Morona-Santiago; extent of occurrence roughly 27,500 km²

Diet

Primarily frugivorous, feeding on fruit from close to 100 plant species (e.g. Faramea and Prestoea palms); during nesting also takes insects, snails, small vertebrates (amphibians) and eggs

Size

0.48 m