FIGS AND THE PERSISTENCE OF TOCO TOUCAN (RAMPHASTOS TOCO) AT DRY FORESTS FROM WESTERN BRAZIL

The Toco Toucan (Ramphastos toco) is a large canopy frugivore common in the seasonal areas of the interior of Brazil. In this study, I evaluated fruit production and analyzed the toucan's feeding habits in two types of dry forests, one deciduous, although rich in figs, and another semi-deciduous, both in the western Brazil. Both areas exhibited marked fruiting patterns, which peaks overlapped the late dry and early wet seasons. However, in the deciduous forest the fruiting peak resulted mostly of dry fruits, while in the semi-deciduous forest the major peak was widely comprised by fleshy fruits. On the other hand, in the deciduous forest, despite of fluctuations, figs were available all year. In the semi-deciduous forest, the feeding activity varied substantially exhibiting peaks coincident with the extensive consumption of seasonally available fruits, mainly Guibourtia hymenaefolia and Schefflera morototoni. These food resources presented such traits as prolonged availability and lipid-rich diaspores. Conversely, in the deciduous forest Toco Toucans foraged every month, mostly for figs, so that their feeding activity exhibited no significant seasonal differences. Therefore, the exploitation of distinct habitat types caused either by asynchronous or seasonal fruits, emphasizes the importance of habitat mosaics for a large frugivorous bird, such as the Toco Toucan, which wanders for wide areas searching for fruiting patches. Data present here increase our knowledge on the species' generalistic habits, which at least partly may explain its persistence and wide distribution in the dry interior of Brazil. Accepted 16 December 2009.