The white-throated toucanet or greyish-throated toucanet (Aulacorhynchus albivitta) is a near-passerine bird in the toucan family Ramphastidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.^[2]

Quick Facts Conservation status, Scientific classification ...

White-throated toucanet
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Piciformes
Family:	Ramphastidae
Genus:	Aulacorhynchus
Species:	A. albivitta
Binomial name
Aulacorhynchus albivitta (Boissonneau, 1840)
Subspecies
See text
Synonyms
Aulacorhynchus prasinus albivitta Pteroglossus albivitta

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The white-throated toucanet was originally described in the genus Pteroglossus. What is now the white-throated toucanet was four of many subspecies of the then emerald toucanet (Aulacorhynchus prasinus sensu lato). In 2008 the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) split 10 of those subspecies to create seven new species, one of which is the white-throated toucanet, and retained four of them as subspecies of their current emerald toucanet sensu stricto. BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) concurred. In 2016 the IOC merged two of the seven, the Santa Marta toucanet (A. lautus) and gray-throated toucanet (A. griseigularis), into the white-throated and again HBW concurred. However, the North and South American Classification Committees of the American Ornithological Society and the Clements taxonomy declined to follow them. In 2017 they did split the emerald toucanet into two species, the northern (A. prasinus) and southern (A. albivitta) emerald-toucanets, each with seven subspecies. They treat the IOC's "white-throated" as four subspecies of the southern emerald-toucanet.^{[3][4][2][5][6][7][8]}

Four subspecies of white-throated toucanet are recognized by the IOC and HBW:^[2][5]

• "Santa Marta" toucanet (A. a. lautus) - Bangs, 1898
• "Grey-throated" toucanet (A. a. griseigularis) - Chapman, 1915
• A. a. phaeolaemus - Gould, 1874
• The nominate A. a. albivitta - (Boissonneau, 1840)

Like other toucans, the white-throated toucanet is brightly marked and has a large bill. Adults are 33 to 38 cm (13 to 15 in) long and weigh about 160 to 230 g (5.6 to 8.1 oz). The sexes are alike in appearance although the female generally is smaller and shorter-billed. Their bill is black with a wide yellow stripe along its culmen and a white vertical strip at its base. Subspecies A. a. albivitta and A. a. phaeolaemus have some chestnut or maroon at the base of the culmen. All four subspecies have plumage that is mainly green like that of other members of genus Aulacorhynchus, and is somewhat lighter below than above. The nominate A. a. albivitta has a white throat. It has bare yellow to orange skin around the dark eye that is further surrounded by blue feathers. Subspecies A. a. lautus has a pale gray throat and bare orange-brown or gray skin around the eye. A. a. phaeolaemus has a pale blue throat and A. a. griseigularis a gray throat. All subspecies have olive green legs and feet with dusky yellow soles.^[9]

The four subspecies of white-throated toucanet are found thus:^[2][9]

• A. a. lautus, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta of northern Colombia
• A. a. griseigularis, the northern part of the Western Andes and the western slope of the Central Andes of Colombia
• A. a. phaeolaemus Colombia's Western Andes except the northernmost part
• A. a. albivitta, the Andes of northwestern Venezuela, both slopes of Colombia's Eastern Andes and the eastern slope of the Central Andes, and the eastern Andes of northern and central Ecuador

The white-throated toucanet primarily inhabits the interior of humid montane forest but is also found in more open landscapes like the forest's edge, secondary forest, plantations, and clearings with scattered trees.^[9]

The IUCN has assessed the white-throated toucanet as being of Least Concern. It has a large range, but its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified.^[1] It is "vulnerable to habitat destruction".^[9]