Lettered Aracari

About the Lettered Aracari

The lettered aracari or lettered araçari (Pteroglossus inscriptus) is a near-passerine bird in the toucan family Ramphastidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC), the Clements taxonomy, and the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (SACC) recognize two subspecies of lettered aracari: the nominate P. i. inscriptus (Swainson, 1822) and P. i. humboldti (Wagler, 1827). P. i. humboldti had originally been described as a separate species, and later as a subspecies of green aracari (P. viridis). BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World treats it as a species, "Humboldt's araçari". The SACC is soliciting a proposal to adopt that treatment.

This article follows the IOC et al. two-subspecies model. The lettered aracari is 33 to 35.5 cm (13 to 14 in) long. The nominate subspecies weighs about 100 to 130 g (3.5 to 4.6 oz) and P. i. humboldti about 110 to 185 g (3.9 to 6.5 oz). In both the male is larger than the female and has a longer bill. Their bills have a complex pattern. The nominate's has a mostly yellow maxilla... Wikipedia →