Toco toucan Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Toco Toucan

Toco Toucan at Birdworld, Surrey, England
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Piciformes
Family:	Ramphastidae
Genus:	Ramphastos
Species:	R. toco
Binomial name
*Ramphastos toco* Statius Müller, 1776

Distribution of the Toco Toucan

The toco toucan (Ramphastos toco) is also known as the common toucan or giant toucan. It is the largest and most famous type of toucan. You can find it in places with some trees and open spaces across a large part of central and eastern South America. Many zoos around the world have toco toucans, making them a popular sight.

About the Toco Toucan's Name
- Different Types of Toco Toucans
What Does a Toco Toucan Look Like?
- The Amazing Toucan Bill
Where Do Toco Toucans Live?
Toco Toucan Behavior and Life Cycle
- Reproduction and Nests
Toco Toucans as Pets
Are Toco Toucans Safe?
Images for kids
See also

About the Toco Toucan's Name

A German animal expert named Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller first described the toco toucan in 1776.

Different Types of Toco Toucans

There are two main types, or subspecies, of the toco toucan:

R. t. toco: This type lives in the Guianas, northern and northeastern Brazil, and southeastern Peru.
R. t. albogularis: This type is found in eastern and southern Brazil, northern Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern Argentina.

What Does a Toco Toucan Look Like?

Toco toucans have amazing feathers! Their bodies are mostly black. They have a bright white throat and chest. The feathers under their tail are red.

Around their eyes, you might think they have blue eyes, but it's actually thin blue skin. This blue skin is then surrounded by another ring of bare, orange skin.

The most striking part of a toco toucan is its huge bill. This bill can be from 15.8 to 23 centimeters (about 6 to 9 inches) long! It's yellow-orange, becoming a deeper reddish-orange on the bottom and top edges. It also has a black base and a big black spot on its tip. Even though it looks heavy, the bill is actually quite light inside because it's mostly hollow. Their tongue is almost as long as their bill and very flat.

This bird is the biggest toucan and the largest member of its bird group, called Piciformes. A toco toucan can be about 55 to 65 centimeters (21 to 25 inches) long. They usually weigh between 500 to 876 grams (about 1 to 2 pounds). Male toucans are a bit heavier, averaging 723 grams, while females average 576 grams.

Their voice sounds like a deep, rough croaking sound, which they often repeat every few seconds. They also make a rattling call and can clack their bills together.

The Amazing Toucan Bill

The toco toucan's bill is the largest compared to its body size of any bird. It makes up 30 to 50% of the bird's body surface! This huge bill has many uses. It helps them peel fruit and can scare away other birds when they try to steal eggs from nests. It might also help them defend their territory or act as a visual warning.

Scientists have found that the bill also helps the toucan control its body temperature. The bill can change how much blood flows through it. This allows the toucan to release or keep heat, using its bill like a radiator. This ability to cool down is similar to how an elephant uses its large ears to get rid of body heat.

Where Do Toco Toucans Live?

Toco toucans live in many parts of South America. You can find them in northern and eastern Bolivia, southeastern Peru, northern Argentina, eastern and central Paraguay, and eastern and southern Brazil. They also live in some areas along the lower Amazon River, in northern Brazil (Roraima), and along the coasts of the Guianas. They have even been seen recently in northwestern Uruguay. They only go into the Amazon rainforest in open areas, like along rivers. They usually stay in one place, but sometimes they move around locally.

Unlike other toucans, the toco toucan prefers open areas rather than dense forests. They live in many different places like woodlands, savannas, and other open areas with scattered trees. You can also find them in Cerrado (a type of grassland), plantations, forest edges, and even in gardens with trees. They mostly live in lowlands, but can be found up to 1,750 meters (about 5,740 feet) high near the Andes mountains in Bolivia. They are easy to spot in the Pantanal wetlands.

Toco Toucan Behavior and Life Cycle

Toco toucans eat fruit, using their long bills to pick them from trees. They also eat insects, frogs, small reptiles, small birds, and their eggs or baby birds. Their long bill is very helpful for reaching food that would otherwise be too far away. You usually see them in pairs or small groups.

When they fly, they flap their short, rounded wings quickly for a bit, then glide.

Reproduction and Nests

Toco toucans nest at certain times of the year, but the exact timing can be different depending on the region. They usually build their nests high up in a tree, in a hollow space. The parent birds often dig out at least part of this hollow themselves. They have also been known to nest in holes in earth-banks or in termite nests on the ground.

They have one breeding cycle each year. The female usually lays two to four eggs a few days after mating. Both the male and female toucans take turns sitting on the eggs to keep them warm. The eggs hatch after about 17 to 18 days. These birds are very protective of themselves and their young chicks.

Toco Toucans as Pets

Like the keel-billed toucan, toco toucans are sometimes kept as pets. They need a diet that is very high in fruit.

It's important that pet toco toucans do not eat mouse or rat meat. This is because it can make them sick with a bacterial infection.

Are Toco Toucans Safe?

Toco toucans prefer open areas. This means that they might actually benefit from deforestation (when forests are cut down) in tropical South America, as it creates more of the open spaces they like. They live across a very large area and are generally quite common, except in the very edges of their range. Because of this, BirdLife International considers them to be of Least Concern, meaning they are not currently at risk of disappearing.