Black-mandibled Toucan vs Empress Brilliant

Ramphastos ambiguus compared with Heliodoxa imperatrix

Key Differences

• Black-mandibled Toucan is Vulnerable while Empress Brilliant is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black-mandibled Toucan	Empress Brilliant
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Piciformes (Piciformes)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Ramphastidae	Trochilidae
Genus	Ramphastos	Heliodoxa
Species	Ramphastos ambiguus	Heliodoxa imperatrix

Evolutionary Relationship

Black-mandibled Toucan and Empress Brilliant share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (Birds)

Conservation Status

Black-mandibled Toucan

VU — Vulnerable

Empress Brilliant

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black-mandibled Toucan	Empress Brilliant
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black-mandibled Toucan

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Empress Brilliant

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, and Norway.

Black-mandibled Toucan

Black-mandibled Toucan (Ramphastos ambiguus) is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List. Facing a high risk of endangerment in the wild, with declining populations and increasing habitat pressure.

Empress Brilliant

A large, brilliantly colored hummingbird of humid Andean forests in Colombia and Ecuador, male empress brilliants are among the most striking hummingbirds with iridescent green and violet plumage and glittering scales across their throat and breast. Found at elevations between 1,000–2,100 meters in cloud forest. Named in honor of Empress Eugenie of France, these powerful birds aggressively defend territory around flowering trees. Listed as Least Concern with stable populations in remaining Andean forest.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇳🇴 Norway