Toucan

The toucan is a brightly colored bird that lives in the rainforests of Central and South America. Toucans are famous for their giant, rainbow-colored bills. There are about 40 different species, ranging from small toucanets no bigger than a robin to the toco toucan, which can grow more than two feet long. All of them live in warm, tropical forests near the equator.

The bill is the first thing anyone notices. On a toco toucan, it can be almost 8 inches long, which is nearly a third of the bird's total length. You might think a bill that big would be heavy, but it is not. Inside, the bill is full of air pockets held together by a thin web of bone. This makes it light enough for the bird to fly without tipping forward.

Why such a big bill? Scientists have debated this question for a long time. Charles Darwin thought it might help attract mates. Others guessed it was for scaring away rival birds. More recent research suggests another answer: the bill works like a radiator. Toucans can send extra blood into their bills to let heat escape, which helps them cool off on hot days. The bill probably does several jobs at once.

Toucans use their bills to reach fruit on branches too thin to stand on. They pluck the fruit, toss it in the air, and catch it in their throat. Fruit is their main food, but they also eat insects, lizards, eggs, and small birds when they can catch them. A toucan cannot chew. It swallows food whole.

These birds are not strong fliers. Their short, rounded wings are built for hopping between branches, not long trips. Toucans nest in holes in trees, often in holes that woodpeckers made first. A pair of toucans will squeeze into the hollow together, and the mother lays two to four white eggs. Both parents take turns sitting on the eggs and feeding the chicks after they hatch.

Toucans are loud. They croak, bark, and rattle to call to each other across the forest canopy. A group of toucans can sound like a pack of frogs.

Most toucan species are doing well, but some are losing their homes as rainforests are cut down for farms and roads. Toucans also spread seeds through the forest by pooping out the pits of the fruit they eat. Every toucan flying overhead is helping plant the next generation of rainforest trees.