Toucan

Toucans are Neotropical birds of the family Ramphastidae, found from southern Mexico through Central America to northern Argentina. The family includes toucans, aracaris and toucanets, over 40 species in all, most of them forest dwellers in the lowland tropics. They are known for their brightly marked bodies and large, often colourful bills, which in some large species measure more than half the body length. Toucans are mostly fruit eaters but opportunistically take insects, small lizards and the eggs and nestlings of smaller birds. They are social, living in groups of up to 20 or more, and nest in tree hollows.

About the toucan

A toucan is a fruit-eating tropical bird of Central and South America with a huge, often brightly colored bill. Toucans make up the family Ramphastidae, which includes the big toucans, the smaller aracaris and the toucanets. Their closest relatives are the toucan-barbets, and they are more distantly related to barbets and woodpeckers.

The family has 43 living species in five genera: Ramphastos (the large toucans), Pteroglossus (aracaris), Aulacorhynchus and Selenidera (toucanets) and Andigena (mountain toucans). The name comes from the Tupi word tukana or Guaraní tukã, by way of Portuguese, and refers to the birds' frog-like croaking call. Well-known species include the toco toucan, the largest, and the keel-billed toucan.

Toucans have short, compact bodies about the size of a crow's, a short thick neck and a rounded tail that can be half to fully as long as the body. The wings are small, since forest birds only need to fly short distances. The legs are short and strong, and the toes are arranged in pairs, two facing forward and two back.

The bill is the toucan's trademark, and in some large species it measures more than half the length of the body. It is surprisingly light, built from bony struts with foam-like keratin between them. Forward-facing serrations along its edge once led naturalists to think toucans caught fish. In fact the bill is a very efficient radiator for regulating body heat, and it lets a toucan sit still and reach fruit all around it, probe deep into tree holes, and raid hanging nests of smaller birds. Behind it sits a narrow grey tongue up to 15 cm (6 in) long, frayed along each side.

Most toucans show little color difference between the sexes, though females usually have shorter, deeper bills. The dichromatic toucanets of the genus Selenidera are the main exception. Toucans also have a unique tail joint: the last three tail vertebrae are fused and attached by a ball-and-socket joint, so the bird can flip its tail forward over its back. That is how toucans sleep, tucked into a ball of feathers with the tail tip sticking up over the head.

Behavior and diet

Toucans are very social. Most species spend most of the year in groups of up to 20 or more, and bigger gatherings form around a large fruiting tree. Pairs may leave the group to breed, then return with their young.

They are primarily fruit eaters, but opportunistic omnivores too. They take insects, small lizards and smaller birds, and they rob nests of eggs and chicks, probably an important source of protein, especially for feeding their own young. Within their range toucans are the dominant fruit eaters, which makes them important seed dispersers for fruiting trees.

Digesting fruit can take up to 75 minutes, during which a toucan cannot feed. They fill that time with bill sparring, tag-chasing and calling, behavior that may maintain pair bonds or settle dominance. Calls include croaks, barks and growls, and they also tap and clatter their bills. Mountain toucans are known for donkey-like braying.

Toucans nest in tree cavities, usually old woodpecker holes or natural hollows, because the bill is a poor digging tool; only some green toucanets excavate their own. The female lays two to four white eggs. Chicks hatch completely naked, without any down. Toucans are resident breeders and do not migrate.

Range and habitat

Toucans are native to the Neotropics, from southern Mexico through Central America and into South America as far south as northern Argentina. Most live in lowland tropical forest, but the mountain toucans of the genus Andigena reach cool, high-altitude forest in the Andes, up to the tree line.

Most species depend on primary forest. They forage in secondary forest but need large old trees with holes big enough to nest in. Toucans are poor at crossing open water and have never reached the West Indies. The toco toucan is the exception to the forest rule; it lives in savanna with forest patches and in open woodland.

In Africa and Asia, hornbills fill the same ecological role, an example of convergent evolution between unrelated birds.

Toucan vs aracari vs toucanet

All are toucans in the family Ramphastidae, but the groups differ in size and color. The green aracari is one of the smaller aracaris.

Conservation status

There is no single status for toucans, because the IUCN Red List assesses each species separately. Most are Least Concern, including the toco toucan. Several are Near Threatened, among them the keel-billed toucan, yellow-throated toucan, saffron toucanet, yellow-browed toucanet and the grey-breasted and plate-billed mountain toucans. Several species recognized by the IOC have no separate IUCN assessment, because the two bodies divide the species differently.

Most species are restricted to primary forest with large old nest trees. Across their range they have been hunted for food and kept as pets, and their feathers and bills used for decoration. In some places whoever finds a nest is considered its owner and can sell the chicks. The toco toucan is listed on Appendix II of CITES, which regulates its international trade.