The Chestnut Eared Aracari is the largest of the Aracaris and Toucanets weighing in at an average 300 grams. It is also the second only to the Toco as the most widely distributed toucan species, found throughout most of Brazil, northern Argentina and Bolivia and Eastern Peru and in Peru it is the most commonly encountered Ramphastid. Chestnut Eared Aracaris breed in tree hollows as do all Ramphastids and in hollow logs in captivity, where it was first bred in the U.S. in 1983 by Rod Barth. They lay 3-4 elliptical white eggs which take 16 days to hatch. Young leave the nest at 43 days of age. Chestnut Eareds disappeared from American aviculture in the early 1990s and were not seen again until imported in 2003 by Emerald Forest Bird Gardens through its Toucan Cooperative Breeding Program licensed by the USFWS. All the Chestnut Ears in the USA today are from the Coop imports and their offspring. Chestnut Ears make excellent pets and are the most intelligent of the Aracaris and Toucanets. They are listed on CITES Appendix III and cannot be imported except through the Toucan Coop.

If you have a description or pictures of a Chestnut Eared Aracari please email it to birdsofprey1@aol.com to be included on this page about the Chestnut Eared Aracari.