Costa Rica: Curicancha Cloud Forest Reserve – Emerald Toucanets

We got super lucky at Curicancha Reserve (again!) to spot not one but two emerald toucanets (aka Green Toucans or Aulacorhynchus prasinus in Latin). While they are not rare in the Costa Rican cloud forest, they are very hard to spot given their color and how they blend in. But these two (probably a couple), were loudly pecking on a tree trunk (like woodpeckers), and didn’t bother to stop when we were literally a few meters away underneath them. Like other toucans, they have massive bills and bright colors – emerald green and reddish tails. At first thought, it seemed like these two were hunting for insects, but turns out that Emerald Toucanets are mostly fruit-eaters, but use old woodpecker holes (that they enlarge) for nesting, laying 3-4 eggs.
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