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Curl-crested Aracari | Pteroglossus beauharnaisii
Kroeskoparassari | Arasarí crespo | Araçari-mulato
The Curl-crested Aracari is an aracari of south-western Amazonia, named after the crown of curled, glossy black feathers that recall shavings of lacquer. No other toucan has such feathers. In the guide area it lives in south-eastern Peru and northern Bolivia.
Voice
A short, hoarse or grating call and high, squeaky notes, less sharp than in Chestnut-eared Aracari.
Recording: Richard E. Webster — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto
Identification
40–46 cm, with a long tail. The crown consists of dense, curled, glossy black feathers. The cheeks and throat are yellowish white with small black spots. The mantle and rump are red, the wings and tail dark green. The underparts are yellow, with a red band across the breast, sometimes with some black. The bill is multicoloured: the upper mandible with dark blue, orange and red, the lower mandible pale ivory. Bare bluish skin surrounds the eye. The sexes are nearly alike.
Confusion species
Chestnut-eared Aracari Pteroglossus castanotis has chestnut sides to the head, a smooth black crown and a largely dark bill. Ivory-billed Aracari Pteroglossus azara has a red throat and a plain pale bill. Lettered Aracari Pteroglossus inscriptus is smaller, with plain yellow underparts. Red-necked Aracari Pteroglossus bitorquatus also has a red mantle, but a black head without curls and a plain yellow belly.
Habitat
Tall humid lowland forest on terra firme, also bamboo forest, várzea and forest edges, usually below 800 m. It lives in pairs or small groups, often in the canopy. It eats mainly fruit, also insects. It nests and roosts in tree cavities.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of the Andes and the west coast.
Range and movements
In Peru in the south-east, south of the Amazon, mainly in Ucayali, Madre de Dios and Puno. In Bolivia in the northern lowlands, in Pando, Beni and northern La Paz. Absent from Colombia, Ecuador and the Galápagos. Outside the guide area in western Amazonian Brazil, south of the Amazon.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Search from canopy towers at the lodges in Madre de Dios and Pando, where small groups visit fruiting trees early in the morning. The pale, spotted face shows even at a distance.
Conservation status
Least Concern. The species lives in large, still largely intact forest areas, but suffers locally from deforestation.
Scientific name
Pteroglossus beauharnaisii | Wagler, 1832
Wagler described the species in 1832 and placed it straight away in the genus where it still stands. The genus Pteroglossus was introduced in 1811 by Illiger. The genus name comes from Greek pteron, 'feather', and glōssa, 'tongue', after the frayed, feather-like tongue of these birds. The species name beauharnaisii honours Auguste de Beauharnais (1810–1835), 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg, collector and patron of the sciences. The specimen the first description was based on came from Pará, Brazil.