Description

Upper mandible mostly ivory whitish, with blackish culmen, tip, and lower mandible; base of bill sharply outlined with white. Bare ocular area red. Head, neck, and throat black with inconspicuous chestnut collar; otherwise dull greenish black above with red rump; remaining underparts mostly yellow, more or less stained red, with spot of black on center of breast and mixed band of black and red across upper belly.

Habitat

Common in forest, second-growth woodland, and borders in lowlands and foothills (to about 900 m).

Habits and Behavior

Aracaris travel about in groups of up to a dozen individuals, generally keeping in close contact; they "follow the leader", straggling one by one across clearings and forest openings, flying on a straight line with rapid fluttery wingbeats interspersed with short glides. Usually they stay rather high in trees, often perching in the open in early morning and to a lesser extent in late afternoon. The usual call is a distinctive high squeaky or sneezy ksíyik, ksíyik; also a kecheéf.