Toco Toucan

The Toco Toucan (Ramphastos Toco), also known as the Common Toucan or Toucan, is the largest and probably the best known species in the Toucan family.

Toco Toucans can be found in many areas throughout South America. They are located mostly on the eastern side of the continent, in Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, Argentina, Bolivia and Venezuela. Toco Toucans often build their nests in decayed, hollow trees of the rainforest. These nests are often found high in the canopies of the rainforests.

The Toco Toucan has a striking plumage, mainly black, with a white throat, chest and uppertail-coverts, and red undertail-coverts. What appears to be a blue iris is actually thin blue skin around the eye. This blue skin is surrounded by another ring of bare, orange skin. This species is the largest toucan and the largest representative of the order Piciformes. The total length of these birds is 55–65 cm. Body weight in these birds can vary from 500 to 876 g. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 22 to 26 cm, the tail is 14 to 17.9 cm and the tarsus is 4.8 to 6.5 cm.

The most noticeable feature, however, is its huge bill, which measures from 15 to 23 cm in length, and it's yellow-orange, tending to deeper reddish-orange on its lower sections and culmen, and with a black base and large spot on the tip.It looks heavy, but as in other toucans it is relatively light because the inside largely is hollow. The tongue is nearly as long as the bill and very flat.

Tocos are not excellent fliers so they often need to walk and hop across branches to get to places where fruit is at. They will then use their long beaks to grab fruit that would otherwise be out of reach to birds with smaller bills. Toco Toucans have loud calls and chatter that they use to communicate with other tocos of the rainforest. Some of these calls can be heard miles away.

The Toco Toucan eats fruits using its bill to pluck them from trees, but also insects, frogs, small reptiles, eggs and nestlings. The long bill is useful for reaching things that otherwise would be out-of-reach. It is also used to skin fruit and scare off predators which include jaguars, snakes, and weasles. Toucans nest in tree holes. They usually have two to four eggs each year, which both parents care for. Young toucans do not have a large bill at birth; it grows as they develop and does not become full size for several months.
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