The Guianan toucanet, or Guyana toucanet is a near-passerine bird in the toucan family Ramphastidae. It is found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.
Region
Guiana Shield
Typical Environment
Inhabits humid lowland evergreen forests across northern Brazil (Amapá and Roraima), French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and eastern Venezuela. It favors terra firme forest but also uses gallery forest, mature secondary growth, and forest edges with tall canopy. Most activity occurs in the subcanopy to canopy, especially at fruiting trees, and it often forages along forest streams and ridges.
Altitude Range
0–1200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
This small toucan is strongly sexually dichromatic: males have a black head and throat while females show rich brown in these areas. It is an important seed disperser, swallowing fruits whole and later regurgitating the pits far from the parent tree. Pairs nest in tree cavities and share incubation and chick-rearing duties.
Female in Brazil
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats between perches; capable but not a long-distance flier
Social Behavior
Usually seen in pairs or small family groups, occasionally joining mixed-species flocks at fruiting trees. Pairs are monogamous and nest in natural cavities or old woodpecker holes. Both sexes incubate and feed the nestlings, bringing regurgitated fruit and small animal prey.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations are low, frog-like croaks and gruff rolling notes, often given in steady series from a concealed perch. Calls carry surprisingly well through dense forest despite their soft quality.
Plumage
Compact toucanet with glossy green upperparts and contrasting dark foreparts in males; females show rufous-brown head and throat. Underparts are mostly green with reddish undertail coverts and some yellowish or buff highlights around the face. Bill is long, laterally compressed, and patterned with pale and dark areas.
Diet
Primarily consumes a wide variety of fruits, especially figs, palm fruits, and berries, which it swallows whole and later regurgitates the seeds. Supplements its diet with insects, spiders, and occasionally small vertebrates or eggs. Plays a notable role in forest regeneration through seed dispersal.
Preferred Environment
Feeds mostly in the subcanopy and canopy at fruiting trees, including along forest edges and river corridors. Will descend to mid-story or even lower levels when seasonal fruit is abundant.
