Gould's Toucanet Selenidera gouldii Scientific name definitions

All five species of Selenidera toucanets possess broadly similar plumage, although the Yellow-eared Toucanet (Selenidera spectabilis) of Central America and extreme northwest South America is obviously much longer-billed. The Gould’s Toucanet occurs in eastern Amazonia, where it is distributed exclusively south of the Amazon across Brazil to northeast Bolivia, with a tiny outlying population within the Caatinga. It is usually considered to represent part of superspecies that also contains the Tawny-tufted Toucanet (Selenidera nattereri) of northwest Amazonia, the Gold-collared Toucanet (Selenidera reinwardtii) of upper Amazonia, and the Spot-billed Toucanet (Selenidera maculirostris), which is endemic to the Atlantic Forest biome. The present species is rarely found away from terra firme forest, although it occasionally enters seasonally flooded areas, second growth, and gallery forests within the northern Cerrado region. Almost nothing is known concerning the ecology of the Gould’s Toucanet, which like other Selenidera species is most likely to be initially detected by its slow-paced, grunting vocalizations, although these are far less obvious than those of the various Pteroglossus aracaris that occur sympatrically with it.

c. 33 cm; male 138–209 g (1 Novaes, F.C. and Lima, M.F.C. (1991). Variação geográfica e anotações sobre morfologia e biologia de Selenidera gouldii (Piciformes: Ramphastidae). Ararajuba. 2: 59-63. Close ), female 131–183 g (2 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Male  with black head to mantle, gold-yellow ear-tuft, yellow band on upper back, green back and tail  ; black below, with golden flank patch, red-undertail-coverts  ; central 1–3 pairs of rectrices tipped chestnut  ; maxilla with narrow ivory base behind black patch, latter often with 3–5 vertical black lines beneath, mandible with ivory base to over halfway along and much smaller black patch below or ahead of front end of maxillary patch, one-third or more of bill tip orange-yellow  , tomia ivory; yellow eye slit-like owing to darkened iris before and behind pupil; facial-orbital area green-yellow to blue  . Distinguished from almost identical but wholly allopatric S. reinwardtii and S. maculirostris in bill colours, while S. langsdorffii comes close to present species even in latter character, but again probably no overlap in range. Female chestnut  where male black, ear-tuft duller, flank patch  more yellow, yellow band on upper back narrower  , bill shorter (48·9–60·2 mm, versus 55–70·2 mm in male) (2 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Immature duller, virtually lacking yellow band on back, plumage lax, bright areas of adults duller; bill lacks “teeth” and fine basal line, pattern obscure, blotchy, pale areas horn-coloured; young female has blackish crown (2 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ).

C & E Brazil S of Amazon (from R Madeira E to Maranhão and N Ceará), S to E Bolivia (R Mamoré, E Beni and NE Santa Cruz) and C Mato Grosso, there reaching tributaries of upper R Paraguay.

Moist to wet tropical lowland forest , and gallery forest, especially in N cerrado; also palm forest, deciduous forest, some secondary forest, and thickets near forest; at times várzea flooded forest. Typically in tall forest with canopy of up to 40 m, but on sandier soils occurs in shorter-stature forest of 15–20 m (2 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Occurs on some slopes to 700 m, e.g. in Serra de Baturitá (Ceará, in NE Brazil) and to 800 m in Serra dos Carajás (Pará, E Amazonian Brazil) (4 Pacheco, J. F., G. M. Kirwan, A. Aleixo, B. M. Whitney, A. Whittaker, J. Minns, K. J. Zimmer, P. S. M. Fonseca, M. F. Lima, and D. C. Oren (2007). An avifaunal inventory of the CVRD Serra dos Carajás project, Pará, Brazil. Cotinga 27:15–30. Close ), and to 725 m in Bolivia.

Very little known. Fruits , e.g. of the palm Euterpe; also, “meat” (probably of small bird or reptile) (2 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) in one stomach. Forages from undergrowth to canopy, usually in pairs or in groups of up to four.

Series of “ggrawnk” to “ggrraaw” notes, very like those of S. reinwardtii and S. maculirostris, usually in 4–14-note series (2 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), but at slower tempo of 60–75 per minute; other calls probably also similar.

Season suggested as May–Sept; probably from Jun–Jul in W Brazil (Amazonas, Rondônia) and in Bolivia. No information available on nest, eggs and all other aspects of breeding, although these are probably much as for S. maculirostris.

Not globally threatened. No information available on numbers, but found throughout humid forest in Serra de Baturité (Ceará), which population is presumably threatened at state level (5 Albano, C., and W. Girão (2008). Aves das matas úmidas das serras de Aratanha, Baturité e Maranguape, Ceará. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 16(2):142–154. Close ). This species’ ability to use second growth should favour it. Details of breeding and ecology are needed for possible monitoring.