Ramphastos Toucans are the largest of the toucan family, related to the Asian/African hornbills, along with woodpeckers, barbets, jacamars and kingfishers.These toucans are tropical and subtropical near passerine birds from Mexico, and Central and South America, which are brightly marked and have enormous, often colourful, bills.
This genus has a size ranging from 42 to 61 centimetres (17 to 24 in) in length. All have black wings, tails and thighs, but the colour of the remaining plumage depends on the exact species involved. 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 essentially resident birds, but may take part in minor, local movements (e.g., to lower altitudes in the winter).
There are 7 species in this genus, 4 of which are Bolivian:
Channel-billed Toucan, Ramphastos vitellinus
Green-billed Toucan, Ramphastos dicolorus
White-throated Toucan, Ramphastos tucanus
Toco Toucan, Ramphastos toco
In the case of the Channel-billed and the White-throated, supspp. are recognised as follows:
Channel-billed Toucan, Ramphastos vitellinus
Citron-throated Toucan, Ramphastos (vitellinus) citreolaemus.
Ariel Toucan, Ramphastos (vitellinus) ariel
Yellow-ridged Toucan, Ramphastos (vitellinus/ariel) culminatus
White-throated Toucan, Ramphastos tucanus
Red-billed Toucan, Ramphastos (tucanus) tucanus
Cuvier's Toucan, Ramphastos (tucanus) cuvieri
The Bolivian subspp. of the Channel-billed is the R. vitellinus culminatus, called the Yellow-ridged Toucan, a short video of which may be seen here:
http://ibc.lynxeds.com/video/channel-billed-toucan-ramphastos-vitellinus/yellow-ridged-toucan-perched-showing-all-kind-head
The Bolivian subspp. of the White-throated Toucan is the R. tucanus tucanus, called the Red-billed.
Toucans are not hard to see, some are tame and kept as pets. In Santa Cruz, one of the hostels - Residencia Bolivar, keeps Toco Toucans which can get quite playful with the residents.
In addition to Ramphastos Toucans, Bolivia also has toucanets and aracaris, with a total of well over a dozen in the toucan family, mostly in the departamentos of Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando, Oruro, Chuquisaca, La Paz and Cochabamba.
