Collared Aracari

Like other toucans, the collared aracari is brightly marked and has a large bill. Adults are 38 to 41 cm (15 to 16 in) long and weigh 175 to 250 g (6.2 to 8.8 oz). Males and females have the same coloration of the bill and plumage but the female's bill is shorter than the male's. The three subspecies' bills are alike. The adult's bill has a narrow vertical white line at its base. Its maxilla is buffy white darkening to dull reddish brown at its base. Its tip and culmen are black. The maxilla has black and yellowish white notches. The bill's mandible is black. Adults of the nominate subspecies have mostly glossy black upperparts with a narrow cinnamon rufous collar at the base of the nape and bright red lower back, rump, and uppertail coverts. Their head, throat, and uppermost breast are greenish black. Their lower breast, belly, and undertail coverts are yellow. The breast has a variable red wash and a black spot in its center; the upper belly is crossed by a narrow red and black band. Their thighs are cinnamon to rufous. Juvenile collared aracaris are much duller than adults, with a sooty-black head and chest and brownish olive upperparts. The red rump and yellow underparts are paler, and the breast spot, belly band, and bill pattern are indistinct. Subspecies P. t. erythrozonus is similar to the nominate but smaller and has a much smaller breast spot or none at all. P. t. …

The subspecies of collared aracari are found thus:

P. t. torquatus, from east-central Mexico south through Central America to just into northwestern Colombia, but not on the Yucatán Peninsula P. t. erythrozonus, southeastern Mexico including the Yucatán Peninsula, Belize, and Peten in northern Guatemala P. t. nuchalis, northern Colombia and northern Venezuela The collared aracari inhabits the interior and edges of evergreen primary forest and mature secondary forest and also coffee, cacao, and fruit plantations. In the semi-arid parts of northern Colombia and Venezuela it also occurs in gallery forest. In elevation it is found from sea level to about 1,000 m (3,300 ft).

Collared aracaris typically travel in groups of about six to fifteen individuals that sometimes include other toucan species. They also roost communally; up to seven may occupy a cavity overnight.