Toucan | San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants

Cereal, anyone?Show any child a photo of a bird with an extraordinarily large beak, and they will tell you that it's a toucan! Perhaps the most well known tropical bird, the toucan is a symbol of playfulness and intelligence that has been used quite successfully by advertisers and business owners. There are several species of birds in the toucan family, some with names like aracari or toucanet, but they all sport that large, comical bill.

Why does the toucan have a bill that can be four times the size of its head and nearly as long as the rest of its body? Some say that the large and brightly colored bill is used to attract potential mates. Others suggest it is useful in scaring away predators or other wildlife that might compete with the toucan for food. Still others believe it is an adaptation that allows the toucan to reach food way out at the ends of branches that are not strong enough to hold the bird itself. Toucans are known to reach deep into tree cavities to grab eggs from other birds or to dig deeply into their own nesting cavities to clear them out, and pairs have been seen tossing fruit to one another in a courtship ritual. No matter what purpose you decide on, the toucan’s bill is a very useful tool!

Their famous bill is of light, but stout, construction and is hollow except for a network of bony fibers that run crisscross through the top for strength and support. It is made of keratin, the same thing our hair and fingernails are made of. Having such a lightweight bill allows the toucan to perch on the thinnest of branches to reach for the ripest of fruit!

The word “toucan” comes from the sound the bird makes. Their songs often resemble croaking frogs. Toucans combine their extensive vocal calls with tapping and clattering sounds from their bill. Many toucans make barking, croaking, and growling sounds, and mountain toucans make braying sounds like those of a donkey. Females generally have a higher voice than the males.

Although toucans and woodpeckers may not look like they have much in common, they are in the same taxonomic order (Piciformes) and have a lot in common. Like woodpeckers—and the parrots and macaws they share the forest with—toucans are zygodactylous, meaning they have two toes pointing forward and two pointing backward. This foot design provides strength and stability when moving through dense branches, up and down tree trunks, or in and out of tree cavities.

Both toucans and woodpeckers have a tongue that is long, narrow, and feather-like. Bristles along each side of the tongue help the birds catch and taste food before moving it down the throat. In addition, toucans and woodpeckers have short, stiff tail feathers, called rectrices, and nest in tree cavities. Both toucans and woodpeckers tend to be mostly shiny black, but they are decorated with bright whites, yellows, oranges, reds, and greens, depending on the species.