Groove-billed toucanet


The groove-billed toucanet is a species of bird in the family Ramphastidae. It is found in mountains of north-eastern Colombia and northern Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical and upper tropical humid forest and woodland, occasionally also occurring in gardens.

Taxonomy and systematics

The groove-billed toucanet was originally described in the genus Pteroglossus.

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized:
It has a total length ca. and it weighs. It is, as are other members of its genus, mainly green. The throat is white and the ocular skin is blue. The bill is black with maroon markings, but the maroon is replaced by yellow in the yellow-billed toucanet. This distinctive subspecies is found in the western part of the species' range, but is vocally similar to the other subspecies and hybrids are known from the region where it comes into contact with A. s. sulcatus. Genetic evidence suggests they should remain as subspecies of a single species.
It is generally fairly common in its range, and therefore considered Least Concern by BirdLife International. It occurs in several protected areas such as the Henri Pittier National Park in Venezuela.