Plate-billed Mountain Toucan

The Plate-billed Mountain Toucan (Andigena laminirostris) is a species of bird in the Ramphastidae family. It is found in humid montane forests growing on the west Andean slopes in north-western Ecuador and south-western Colombia at a wide range of high, mountain altitudes. This Ramphastid is a stunning shade of blue, highlighted with a variety of reds, browns, greens, and bright golds. This bird is mainly a fruit-eater and is quite active and noisy, making calls sometimes referred to as a pack of hounds. This species is near threatened according to the IUCN Red List because of habitat loss. Toucans are very closely related to the Barbets, including the Toucan Barbet which has striking color similarities to the Plate-Billed Mountain Toucan.There are four Andigenas, which are the four species of Mountain Toucans, the Plate-Billed, the Grey-breasted Mountain Toucan (Andigena cucullata), Black-billed Mountain Toucan (Andigena nigrirostris), and the Hooded Mountain Toucan (Andigena hypoglauca). The order is Piciformes, which consists of nine families, including jacamars, puffbirds, woodpeckers, barbets, and toucans. The family Ramphastidae is specifically for the toucans and contains five genera and about forty different species.