Since 2004 · Licensed by the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT)

Collared Aracari in Costa Rica

Family Ramphastidae

Collared Aracari

Pteroglossus torquatus

In Spanish: Tucancillo Collarejo (Cusingo, Tití, Félix)

  • Resident

Rancho Naturalista's morning feeders, Carara, and the canopy at Rincón de la Vieja. All year.

Where to see itTrips that find it

At Rancho Naturalista, above Turrialba, it comes in to the morning feeders. An aracari is one of the toucan family, smaller than the Keel-billed Toucan, and this is the aracari of the Caribbean side and the north Pacific.

It seldom travels alone. Groups of six to fifteen move through the trees together, and at night up to seven of them pack into one tree hole to sleep. At Carara, where the dry forest meets the wet, its Pacific cousin, the Fiery-billed Aracari, shares the same trees.

Where to see it

Map of the places to see the Collared Aracari and the lodges near them
  • Hotspot page
  • Named place
  • Nearby lodge (numbers match the cards)
  • Rancho Naturalista's reserve, above Turrialbaat the morning feeders, with the Gray-headed Chachalaca, Rufous Motmot and Red-headed Barbet.
  • Carara National Parkin the park with the Scarlet Macaw, and the Fiery-billed Aracari where the two forests meet.Not on the map above: it sits too far away to show at this zoom.
  • Rincón de la Vieja National Parkin the canopy, one of the two birds our park notes name here, with the Great Curassow.Not on the map above: it sits too far away to show at this zoom.

Nearby lodges

Within 20 km of a place on the map, in the same zone.

  • 1
    Rancho Naturalista0.2 km from Rancho Naturalista's reserve, above TurrialbaSee the lodge
  • 2Photo coming
    Santa Lucía Jungle Hacienda, Autograph Collection2.7 km from Carara National Park (off the map)See the lodge
  • 3
    Hacienda Guachipelin4.0 km from Rincón de la Vieja National Park (off the map)See the lodge
  • 4
    Hotel Casa Turire9.6 km from Rancho Naturalista's reserve, above TurrialbaSee the lodge
  • 5
    Cerro Lodge3.1 km from Carara National Park (off the map)See the lodge
See all lodges in this zone →

How to recognise it

About 38 to 41 cm, a good bit longer than a 30 cm school ruler. Glossy black above, with a narrow cinnamon-rufous collar, a reddish-brown band, at the back of the neck, and a bright red lower back and rump, the patch just above the tail. Below, look for a black spot in the middle of a red-washed breast and a narrow red and black band across the upper belly. Those two marks settle it. Male and female share the same colours, but her bill is shorter. If the upper bill is mostly red, it is the Fiery-billed instead. The call is high, sharp and squeaky: seek, pseek, or a two-part pi-cheet.

Where it lives

The interior and edges of evergreen primary forest and mature secondary forest, and also coffee, cacao and fruit plantations, from sea level to about 1,000 m.

When to see it

All year.

Trips that find it

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How we know this 2 sources, each read on the date shown
  1. Wikipedia: Collared aracari read 4 November 2026https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collared_aracari
  2. Wikipedia: Fiery-billed aracari read 4 November 2026https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiery-billed_aracari