The Toco Toucan is usually found in semi-open areas with limited tree cover including savannah, woodlands, and plantations and are endemic in the “cerrado” in Brazil. The Toco Toucan is an arboreal animal, spending most of its life in the canopies of trees. The bird has a unique way feeding where it does not use its tongue when swallowing and instead places the food item at the very tip of its bill and leans its head at a 180-degree inclination, directing the food item to its pharynx. The colorful bill is also used for reaching into tree crevices and holes to access hidden eggs or small animals. The Toco Toucan’s immense bill is its most important foraging instrument which allows the Toco Toucan to grasp fruits from branches that cannot accommodate the bird’s weight. The Toco Toucan also feeds on bird eggs and hatchlings including those of the endangered hyacinth macaw. However, the Toco Toucan is also a carnivore, feeding on small birds, lizards, small amphibians, bird hatchlings, and insects. The bird’s preferred fruits are found on genipapo trees, ambay pumpwood trees, as well as the agarrapolo tree. Dietĭue to its arboreal nature, the Toco Toucan is primarily a frugivore feeding mainly on the fruits and seeds found in the tree canopy. The bill in juvenile is stubbier than that of adults. However, while the bill’s massive size makes it seem heavy, it is quite light as it is made of keratin and has numerous air pockets.
The bill which makes up about a third of the Toco Toucan’s total body length is the largest beak relative to body size in all birds. The huge bill is the largest in the Toucan family measuring between 6.2 inches and 9.1 inches and is usually yellow-orange in color which gradually turns to reddish-orange on its bottom sections and features a large black spot at the tip. The most distinct feature of the Toco Toucan is its massive bill.
#Toco toucan skin
The blue skin around the eyes is itself surrounded by another thin orange skin. The Toco Toucan’s eyes are surrounded by a thin blue skin which has the resemblance of a blue iris. The wide tail aids in balancing on trees and also acts as a rudder when flying. The Toco Toucan’s thick tail measures between 5.6 inches and 7 inches and features are red under tail-covert. Sexual dimorphism is present in the Toco Toucan with adult males being slightly heavier than adult females and the weight in adult males averaging at 1.594 pounds while the average weight in the adult female is 1.270 pounds. However, the plumage on juvenile Toco Toucan birds is rather dull which darkens as they attain maturity. The plumage observed on adult Toco Toucan birds is predominantly covered in black feathers with few dark blue feathers. The wing chord of the Toco Toucan measures between 8.7 inches and 10.2 inches while the length of the bird’s tarsus ranges between 1.9 inches and 2.6 inches. The Toco Toucan is the largest in the Piciformes order with adults growing to a length ranging between 22 inches and 26 inches. According to the IUCN classification, the Toco Toucan’s conservation status is of Least Concern with the bird being easily adopted as a pet by humans. The bird is located in South America and is famed for its distinct huge colorful bill. The Toco Toucan is the largest member of the Toucan family birds and also the best known.
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