Big but light
The bill is hollow, with a honeycomb of bone inside, so it weighs very little.
Amazon rainforest
Toco toucan
Ramphastos toco
A black bird with a white throat and an enormous orange bill with a black tip.
- Size
- About 60cm long, a third of it bill
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- Forest edges and savanna of central South America
Hops and flaps after you, bill first. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Toucan
Good to know
Six things about the toucan
A built-in radiator
The toucan loses heat through its bill, and can turn the flow of blood to it up or down.
A long reach
The long bill picks fruit from the ends of twigs too thin to stand on.
Toss and catch
It takes food in the tip of its bill, then flicks its head back to throw it down its throat.
A neat sleeper
To sleep it lays its bill along its back and folds its tail over the top.
A feathery tongue
Its tongue is long, thin and frayed at the edges like a feather.
The real thing
Photos of the toucan
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Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
Toucans fly with a few quick flaps and then a glide, bill held out in front. Look in fruiting trees early in the morning.
How to help
Toucans are taken for the pet trade. Never buy wild-caught birds, and support forest protection where they live.
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