The Story
This Lettered Aracari (Pteroglossus inscriptus) perched on a moss-covered branch in Restrepo, Meta, Colombia, with the fine dark marks that give it its name visible along the bill. Like other aracaris it eats mostly fruit, and it also takes small arthropods and the eggs and young of other birds. It usually lives below about 500 meters but locally reaches 900, and like other toucans it is assumed to nest in tree cavities.
I used a Canon R5 with the RF 800mm f/11 plus the RF 1.4x extender for this one, at 1/90 sec, f/16, ISO 1600, −0.5 EV. IUCN lists the Lettered Aracari as Least Concern, and the fruiting trees in and around Restrepo bring toucans like this into town.
©2025 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Lettered Aracari (Pteroglossus inscriptus) belongs to the family Ramphastidae (Toucans) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List