About
The Toco Toucan, with its impossibly large orange-yellow bill, is perhaps the most iconic bird of the South American tropics. Despite its substantial appearance — up to 20 cm long, nearly a third of the bird's total length — the bill is remarkably lightweight, made of keratin with a honeycomb-like internal structure. This spectacular appendage serves multiple functions: thermoregulation, fruit foraging, and courtship display.
Conservation Status
Least Concern
Physical Characteristics
Wingspan
50–60 cm
Length
55–65 cm
Weight
500–876 g
Ecology
Habitat
Tropical and subtropical forests, savanna, cerrado woodland edges
Diet
Fruit, insects, eggs, small reptiles, nestlings
Distribution
South America — Central and Eastern Brazil, Paraguay, NE Argentina, Bolivia