Toucans descend to the forest floor to consume the eggs of ground-nesting birds

Abstract

Toucans (Ramphastidae) are mostly frugivorous birds with important links to seed dispersal in the Neotropics. They are less frequently observed to prey upon invertebrates, small vertebrates, and canopy and cavity bird nests. As part of a nest predator study, we created artificial tinamou (Tinamidae) ground-nests and monitored them with camera traps in La Selva Biological Station (Costa Rica) and surrounding forest fragments. The camera traps revealed two species of toucan descend to the ground to consume the eggs. We are unaware of any other reports of toucans depredating nests on the forest floor. We suggest that toucans might be more opportunistic than expected, particularly in disturbed or fragmented habitats where fruiting trees can be sparse. Toucans could conceivably limit the abundance of other birds via nest depredation on the forest floor and exert selection pressure via eco-evolutionary feedbacks.