The grey-breasted mountain toucan (Andigena hypoglauca) is a least-concern species of bird in the toucan family, Ramphastidae. It is found in South American countries such as Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
Taxonomy and systematics
The grey-breasted mountain toucan was originally described in the genus Pteroglossus. Two subspecies are recognized, the nominate:
Image
Subspecies
Distribution
A. h. hypoglauca (Gould, 1833)
Central Colombia to eastern Ecuador
A. h. lateralis (Chapman, 1923).
Eastern Ecuador and central Peru
Description
The grey-breasted mountain toucan is 41 to 48 cm (16 to 19 in) long and weighs 244 to 370 g (8.6 to 13 oz). Males and females within each subspecies have the same plumage, and the two subspecies have the same bill pattern though the female's bill is shorter. The bill's base is yellow to greenish with a black band near the base. The maxilla's outer 2/3 is red, meeting the yellow diagonally. The mandible's outer half is black. Both subspecies have a black cap, face, and nape; a gray-blue band on the hindneck; a greenish brown back; and gray to gray-blue underparts. Their tail is blackish with chestnut tips on the two or three central pairs of feathers. The nominate subspecies has a bright yellow rump, pale gray-blue flanks, chestnut thighs, and red undertail coverts. Its eye is brown and surrounded by bare blue skin. Subspecies A. h. lateralis has a paler yellow rump than the nominate, pale yellow to gray-white flanks, and a yellow to green eye.
Showing underside
Feeding
In flight
Distribution and habitat
The nominate subspecies of grey-breasted mountain toucan is found from central and southern Colombia into eastern Ecuador. A. h. lateralis is found from eastern Ecuador south well into Peru. The species inhabits wet temperate montane forest including cloud, elfin, and secondary forest. In elevation it mostly ranges between 2,200 and 3,650 m (7,200 and 12,000 ft) though it is found as low as 1,500 m...
