These Toucans are, from left, a Soft Spot Toucan from Ganz, an Audubon Bird Toucan from Wild Republic, a Luv Pet Toucan from Russ, Kiwi the Toucan Beanie Baby made by Ty Inc. and Toolu the Toucan (right) from Honduras who is a Cola-Cola International Bean Bag bird.

Toucan is the Brazilian name (Ramphastos toco) for a bird of the tropical American family Ramphastidae, characterized by their huge but light beaks. There are 37 species of these birds ranging from Mexico to Argentina. Toucans are found only in the Western Hemisphere. These peculiar birds belong to the order Piciformes, all of whose members have feet with the first and fourth toes reversed, and all of which are cavity nesters.

The Toco Toucan (Ramphastos toco) frequents the rain-forests from Guiana to Bolivia and northern Argentina. It is 25 inches long and is the largest of the Toucans. The beak, 8 inches long and 3 inches high at the base, is deep orange with a large black spot near the tip. The eye is surrounded by a bare orange space; the plumage is black except for the white throat, edged beneath with red. The tail is nearly square.

Toucans use their canoe shaped bills, half the length of their body, to skin fruit (their principal food), drill wood, probe in the mud, or tear flesh. They also feed on young birds, eggs and insects. They nest in cavities high in forest trees. The eggs are pure white and the young, hatching naked and blind after 16-18 days, remain up to six weeks in the nest, cared for by both parents.When it sleeps, a Toucan turns its head so that its long bill rests on its back, then folds its long tail neatly over it.

Toucans often gather in large groups and chatter loudly and noisily, their calls being synchronized with the fast upward swings of their bills.

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