Tepui Toucanet Aulacorhynchus whitelianus Scientific name definitions

The Tepui Toucanet is a small green toucan of lower montane forest of the Guianan highlands. It generally is similar to, and previously was classified as a subspecies of, Chestnut-tipped Toucanet Aulacorhynchus derbianus of the Andes; but genetic analysis reveals that Tepui Toucanet is more closely related to Groove-billed Toucanet Aulacorhynchus sulcatus of northern South America. Very little is known about the biology of Tepui Toucanet.

33–41 cm; 117–160 g. Green toucanet  (no other Aulacorynchus shares the same range) with grooves on maxilla alone, bill tip especially hooked, base line of bill narrowly but conspicuously white, equal in width on mandible and maxilla; throat white, rump green, undertail-coverts yellow-green. In addition to unique range, differs from <em>A. derbianus</em> (with which previously considered conspecific, see Taxonomy comments) in having more red on maxilla, no blue on nape, shorter dull rufous tail tips, less blue around eye and overall smaller size. Female smaller than male, with shorter bill (54·3–59·5 mm, versus 62–72·8 mm in male). Immature duller, with less yellow in green, less blue on face, smaller or no supercilium and has more pointed tail feathers. Race duidae  larger than nominate (e.g. mean wing of male 117·9 mm, versus 115 mm in nominate) and has larger rusty tail tips than nominate race; osgoodi is smallest race, lacks rusty tail tips and has even less blue aroud eye.

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Subtropical moist montane cloudforest on tepuis in Venezuela, and hilly tropical forest in Guyana and Surinam. Typically recorded at 800–1800 m, but once to 2380 m on Cerro Roraima (Venezuela), and occasionally down to just 300 m in Guyana and 640 m in Surinam (2 Zyskowski, K., Mittermeier, J.C., Ottema, O., Rakovic, M., O’Shea, B.J., Lai, J.E., Hochgraf, S.B., de León, J. and Au, K. (2011). Avifauna of the easternmost tepui, Tafelberg in central Suriname. Bull. Peabody Mus. Nat. Hist.. 52(1): 153–180. Close ).

Virtually unknown, though presumably similar to A. derbianus; regularly visits fruiting melastomes and also observed at fruiting fig (Ficus) trees (2 Zyskowski, K., Mittermeier, J.C., Ottema, O., Rakovic, M., O’Shea, B.J., Lai, J.E., Hochgraf, S.B., de León, J. and Au, K. (2011). Avifauna of the easternmost tepui, Tafelberg in central Suriname. Bull. Peabody Mus. Nat. Hist.. 52(1): 153–180. Close ). Usually observed singly or in pairs, sometimes loosely associated with mixed-species foraging flocks, and typically observed between lower storey and subcanopy.

Song a low grunting “grank, graank, graank...”, given at the rate of slightly more than one note per second.

Not globally threatened. Little known. Still common in some Venezuelan localities. Occurs in Imataca Forest Reserve and El Dorado, Venezuela. Information urgently needed on subspecies osgoodi (known from just three specimens), potentially threatened, in small Guyana-Surinam range, although range recently extended slightly further E to Tafelberg in C Surinam, where it is uncommon (2 Zyskowski, K., Mittermeier, J.C., Ottema, O., Rakovic, M., O’Shea, B.J., Lai, J.E., Hochgraf, S.B., de León, J. and Au, K. (2011). Avifauna of the easternmost tepui, Tafelberg in central Suriname. Bull. Peabody Mus. Nat. Hist.. 52(1): 153–180. Close ).