Aracari
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Order: Piciformes
Family: Ramphastidae

[Photo] Green Aracari, Pteroglossus viridis; A small toucan Pteroglossus viridis. Taken at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. Source: Flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/alumroot/43147854/). Date; January 21, 2005. Author: alumroot (www.flickr.com/photos/alumroot/).

The aracaris (sometimes ara??aris) are medium-sized toucans in the genus Pteroglossus. They are brightly plumaged and with enormous colourful bills.

All the species are basically fruit-eating, but will take insects and other small prey. They are arboreal and nest in tree holes laying 2???4 white eggs. They are resident breeders and do not migrate.

The aracaris are unusual for toucans in that they roost socially throughout the year, up to six adults and fledged young sleeping in the same hole with tails folded over their backs.

The ischnoceran louse Austrophilopterus flavirostris is suspected to parasitize most if not all species of aracaris, with the possible exception of the Green Aracari (Price & Weckstein 2005).

One species, the distinctive Saffron Toucanet, was formerly placed in the monotypic genus Baillonius, but Kimura et al. (2004) was able to show that it belongs in the genus Pteroglossus.

Species list
Lettered Aracari, Pteroglossus inscriptus
Green Aracari, Pteroglossus viridis
Red-necked Aracari, Pteroglossus bitorquatus
Ivory-billed Aracari, Pteroglossus azara
Brown-mandibled Aracari, Pteroglossus mariae
Chestnut-eared Aracari, Pteroglossus castanotis
Black-necked Aracari, Pteroglossus aracari
Collared Aracari, Pteroglossus torquatus
Fiery-billed Aracari, Pteroglossus frantzii
Stripe-billed Aracari, Pteroglossus sanguineus
Pale-mandibled Aracari, Pteroglossus erythropygius
Many-banded Aracari, Pteroglossus pluricinctus
Curl-crested Aracari, Pteroglossus beauharnaesii
Saffron Toucanet, Pteroglossus bailloni

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aracari

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