Ivory-billed Araçari (Pteroglossus azara)

Identification & Behavior: ~34 cm (13.4 in). The Ivory-billed Aracari has a black cap, nape, and chestnut rest of the head and upper breast. The upperparts are dusky-green with a red mantle. The underparts are tri-colored with a broad red breast band above a broad black middle band, and yellow rest of the belly. The bill is creamy yellow with brown on most of the lower mandible. It is similar to the Chestnut-eared Aracari and Many-banded Aracari but is distinguished by not having black on the bill, and by the broad adjoining red and black breast bands.

Status: The Ivory-billed Aracari is uncommon in the forest canopy of Amazonia. It is known to range up to 1200 m along the foothill of the Andes. It also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Arasari de Pico Marfil.

Sub-species: Ivory-billed Araçari (Pteroglossus azara flavirostris), Fraser 1841. E Ecuador and NE Peru.
(P. a. mariae), Gould 1854. S of Amazon, from E Peru and W Brazil S to NC Bolivia.

Meaning of Name: Pteroglossus: Gr. pteros= feather, wing and glossa= tongue (feather-like tongue). azara= honor of the naturalist and Spanish engineer, Brigadier Felix Manuel Azara (1742-1821).

See more of the Family Ramphastidae