Blue-throated toucanet, Los Quetzales National Park, Costa Rica

© Oscar Dominguez/Tandem Stills + Motio

Blue-throated toucanet, Costa Rica

Tucked away in the highlands of Costa Rica, Los Quetzales National Park offers a kaleidoscope of lush habitats, including one that's home to the blue-throated toucanet. Measuring 29-37 centimetres in length, these non-migratory birds use their dexterous toes to navigate branches, while their distinctive bills deftly forage for fruits, insects and small lizards.

During breeding season in March to August, toucanets reside in tree cavities and line their nests with leaves and feathers. The incubation period lasts 16 days, and a close-knit pair of toucanets may share parenting duties, feeding their hatchlings a generous diet of fruit. Blue-throated toucanets are gregarious by nature. Their call—a far-carrying mixture of croaks and chirps that sound like 'rrip rrrip rrip rrip' or 'curré curré curré'—can be heard throughout forests in Costa Rica, western Panama and northwestern Colombia.