Saffron Toucanet

Saffron Toucanet, Bertrando Campos

At a Glance

  • Scientific Name: Pteroglossus bailloni
  • Population: Unknown
  • Trend:  Decreasing
  • Habitat: Lowland and montane Atlantic Forest in SE Brazil, NE Argentina, and eastern Paraguay

Saffron Toucanet map, NatureServeThe Saffron Toucanet is known in Portuguese as "Araçari-banana," or Banana Toucanet. This colorful bird can be found in Brazil's Mata do Passarinho (also known as Stresemann's Bristlefront Reserve), where ABC and Fundação Biodiversitas, supported by PetroBras, have protected 1,468 acres of humid Atlantic Forest. Globally threatened species such as the Stresemann's Bristlefront and Banded Cotinga also occur here.


Sign up for ABC's eNews to learn how you can help protect birds


This bird's beauty is often its undoing, as it is captured illegally for the cage-bird trade. Other threats include habitat loss—the Atlantic Forest is one of the world's most threatened biomes—and hunting.

Saffron Toucanet, Tacio Philip Sansonovski, ShutterstockThe Saffron Toucanet tends to remain relatively inconspicuous as it forages through the tree canopy in pairs or small family groups. It has a variety of vocalizations ranging from loud notes to rattle-like sounds and softer purrs.

Like other species in the toucan family, the Saffron Toucanet mainly eats fruit, but it will also feed on bird eggs and small animals (including smaller birds and their nestlings). The birds usually nest in abandoned woodpecker holes or other tree cavities; both the male and female share the incubation and chick-rearing duties.

 


Donate to support ABC's conservation mission!


More Birds Like This

Our 400+ detailed species profiles bring birds to life across the Americas with a focus on threats and conservation.

  • Population: 200,000
  • Trend:  Decreasing
Northern Emerald-Toucanet by Timo Mitzen, Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
  • Population: Unknown
  • Trend:  Probably declining based on habitat loss
Barred Fruiteater by Jorge Gabriel Campos, Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
  • Population: Unknown
  • Trend:  Stable
Red Crossbill by @Michael Stubblefield, Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
  • Population: 9.6 million (U.S. and Canada); 26 million (World)
  • Trend:  Stable