{"id":234374,"date":"2026-03-22T08:19:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T13:19:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/?post_type=fauna&#038;p=234374"},"modified":"2026-05-09T16:07:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T21:07:31","slug":"groove-billed-toucanet","status":"publish","type":"fauna","link":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/fauna\/groove-billed-toucanet\/","title":{"rendered":"Groove-billed Toucanet"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aulacorhynchus sulcatus<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":264733,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":""},"collection":[],"country":[11],"fauna-group":[27527],"fauna-type":[27217],"star-rating":[],"class_list":["post-234374","fauna","type-fauna","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","country-colombia","fauna-group-toucans","fauna-type-birds"],"acf":{"scientific_name":"Aulacorhynchus sulcatus","animal_description":"The Groove-billed Toucanet (*Aulacorhynchus sulcatus*) is a captivating resident of the humid montane forests of Venezuela and Colombia, instantly recognizable by its lush, emerald-green plumage and sophisticated facial features. Its most defining characteristic is the deep longitudinal groove running along the upper mandible of its large, bicolored bill\u2014typically a striking blend of dark maroon and black. Complementing its verdant body is a patch of vibrant, pale blue skin surrounding the eyes, which adds a splash of brilliance to its appearance. This social bird is often found moving through the forest canopy in small groups, where it utilizes its powerful, serrated beak to feast on a diverse diet of tropical fruits, insects, and occasionally small reptiles, making it a vital and charismatic member of its highland ecosystem.","animal_habitat":"This species is primarily restricted to the mountainous regions of northern Venezuela and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northeastern Colombia. Its geographical range encompasses the coastal cordilleras and Andean foothills, where it is typically found at elevations ranging from 800 to 2,000 meters above sea level.\n\nThe preferred habitats consist of subtropical and tropical moist montane forests, particularly humid cloud forests characterized by high moisture and dense canopy cover. It also frequents forest edges, secondary growth, and occasionally shaded plantations or gardens near forested areas, demonstrating a degree of tolerance for modified landscapes as long as sufficient tree cover remains.","animal_behavior_and_reproduction":"These birds are highly social and typically move through the forest canopy in pairs or small groups of up to ten individuals. They communicate through rhythmic, croaking vocalizations and maintain social bonds through mutual preening. While foraging, they demonstrate an active and agile nature, though they become more territorial and secretive once the breeding season commences to protect their chosen nesting sites.\n\nMonogamous pairs engage in courtship rituals that include bill-fencing and nuptial feeding, where fruit is passed between the male and female to reinforce their bond. They utilize abandoned woodpecker holes or natural tree cavities as nests, where the female lays a clutch of two to four eggs. Both parents participate in incubating the eggs and feeding the hatchlings, showcasing a cooperative reproductive strategy that is essential for raising their young in high-altitude cloud forests.","diet":"The Groove-billed Toucanet is primarily a frugivore, consuming a wide variety of tropical fruits and berries found within the forest canopy, with a particular preference for the oily fruits of the Lauraceae family. While fruit makes up the bulk of its nutritional intake, this species is also an opportunistic omnivore that supplements its diet with animal protein, including insects, spiders, small lizards, and occasionally the eggs or nestlings of other birds. An interesting aspect of their feeding behavior is the use of their large, serrated bills to delicately pluck small fruits before tossing them into the air and catching them at the back of their throats to swallow. Furthermore, because they consume many fruits whole and later regurgitate or pass the seeds intact, these birds play a critical role as seed dispersers within their mountainous Andean habitats.","colors":"The Groove-billed Toucanet is primarily emerald green, a coloration that provides excellent camouflage within the rainforest canopy. Its most defining feature is a thick, dark maroon or reddish-brown bill marked by deep vertical grooves and a black base. The bird typically displays a pale blue or white throat, while the bare skin surrounding the eyes is a vibrant blue or red, contrasting sharply with its overall verdant plumage.","fun_facts":"The Groove-billed Toucanet is best known for the deep longitudinal grooves on its upper mandible, which house a lightweight, honeycomb-like interior that keeps the bird agile despite its bulky appearance. These social birds frequently engage in \"bill-fencing,\" a quirky behavior where they clatter their beaks together like wooden swords during social interactions or play. They also possess a striking patch of bare, sky-blue skin around their eyes that creates an intense, masked look against their green feathers. Highly skilled at \"bill-tossing,\" they often flip fruit into the air and catch it in the back of their throats, using the serrated edges of their beaks to grip slippery food with surgical precision.","conservation_status_&_efforts":"This species is currently categorized as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, though its population trend is considered to be in decline. The primary threat to its survival is the ongoing loss and fragmentation of its montane forest habitat across northern Venezuela and northeastern Colombia. Deforestation driven by agricultural expansion, livestock grazing, and infrastructure development reduces the availability of suitable nesting sites and food resources within the humid subtropical zones it inhabits.\n\nConservation efforts for this bird largely rely on the maintenance of protected areas and national parks within its range, such as Henri Pittier National Park. While there are few conservation programs specifically targeted at this individual species, it benefits from broader regional initiatives aimed at preserving Andean cloud forests. Continued monitoring of its population and the enforcement of land-use regulations are essential to prevent the species from moving into a more threatened status as habitat conversion continues.","endemic":false,"migratory":false,"nocturnal":false,"conservation_status":"Least Concern","ebird_link":{"url":"https:\/\/ebird.org\/species\/grbtou1","title":"View on Ebird","target":"_blank"},"animal_related_page":{"url":"https:\/\/animalia.bio\/groove-billed-toucanet","title":"View on Animalia","target":"_blank"},"fauna_family":"Ramphastidae","fauna_known_nicknames":"Yellow-billed Toucanet (subspecies A. s. calorhynchus)","fauna_average_length":"35 cm \/ 14 in","fauna_average_weight":"150\u2013200 g \/ 5.3\u20137.1 oz","fauna_wingspan":"40\u201348 cm \/ 16\u201319 in","fauna_key_physical_feature":"Longitudinal grooves on the upper mandible and bare blue skin around the eyes","fauna_primary_diet":"Primarily Frugivore (also consumes insects and small vertebrates)","fauna_geographical_range":"Northern Venezuela and northeastern Colombia","fauna_preferred_habitat":"Humid montane forests and forest edges","fauna_social_structure":"Small family groups or pairs","fauna_breeding_site":"Tree hollows and abandoned woodpecker holes","fauna_conservation_status":"Least Concern (LC)","fauna_population_trend":"Decreasing","fauna_spanish_name":"Tucancito de pico surcado","fauna_french_name":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fauna\/234374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fauna"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/fauna"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"collection","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/collection?post=234374"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=234374"},{"taxonomy":"fauna-group","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fauna-group?post=234374"},{"taxonomy":"fauna-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fauna-type?post=234374"},{"taxonomy":"star-rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/star-rating?post=234374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}