Toucan Facts

Toucan Facts

1. Toucans live in the tropical and exotic locations of South America, but they reside mainly in Brazil, Paraguay,Argentina and Bolivia. 

2. The Beak is the most common way to distinguish a toucan. It is very colorful and surprisingly lightweight.  

3. Their beak is usually curved inward and down. They also have long brush like tongues.

4. A toucan’s feet are oddly shape and this is another characteristic that makes them unique.  They have two toes pointing forward and the other two are pointing backwards.  Most birds have three forward and one backwards.

5. You can fnd out the difference between and male and a female toucan by the bills.  A male has a longer and heavier bill.

6. A toucan is an omnivore, which means that they eat both insects and fruits. Some of the insects that are consisted in their diet are crickets, cicads and spiders. Some of the fruits that they eat are bananas and various types of berries. Some of the other things that are consisted in their diet are rodents, reptiles and weaker birds.

7. The toucan also has predators. The main ones are humans, big cats, the worst is the jaguar, and larger birds.

8. Toucans are very playful birds.

9. There are about 40 species of toucans. The largest, the toco toucan, is pictured on Fruit Loops cereal boxes. 

10. The toco toucan’s 7½ inch long bill is the biggest of all bird bills in relation to body size.

11. It’s fun to watch how a toucan uses its bill to eat. First it grabs the food in the bill’s tip. Then, with a toss of its head, the toucan throws the food into its throat. A long bristly tongue helps move the food down. 

12. Toucans also use their bills to preen (to smooth or clean the feathers) other toucans and to toss food to one another. They use their bills in play, as well grabbing one another’s bill in a kind of “beak wrestling”.

13. Finally, the bill might be used for cooling. Recent studies suggest the bill helps a toucan shed body heat, working much like the ears of an elephant, jack rabbit or fennec fox.

14. They are poor flyers; they beat their wings and glide. They can maneuver better in the trees where they can hop from branch to branch.

15. They drink in a similar way; they will dip the end of their bill in the water and then raise their bill in the air so the water can flow down into the gullet.

16. They live in small communities with several family groups.  They will fly in flocks of about 6 birds.   

17. Will chatter loudly, and noisily. They have a monotonous call that can be heard a half a mile away in the rainforest. Their calls are synchronized with the fast upward swings of their bill.  

18. Another interesting behavior is the way in which they sleep. When the bird sleeps, it turns its head so that its long bill rests on its back and the tail is folded over its head. The bird becomes a ball of feathers. Five or six adults may sleep in a single hole, folding their tails over their backs to save space in crowded quarters.

19. Although their bill looks like a good weapon it is not a good defense from predators. To avoid predation they will usually hide in a hollow tree. They rely mainly on camouflage as a defense. The bright colors of the bill look like fruits and flowers.

20. They use their beaks to reach fruit or to pull chicks of the nest holes. The toucans bill looks heavy but its light.

21. The bills colour may be black, blue, brown, green, red, white, yellow or a combination of colour. The bright color on the bill help to attract a toucan mate.