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Toucans (, ) are Neotropical birds in the family Ramphastidae. They are most closely related to the Semnornis. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful Beak. The family includes five genus and over 40 different species.
Toucans are arboreal and typically lay two to four white Bird egg in their nests. They make their nests in and holes excavated by other animals such as —the toucan bill has very limited use as an excavation tool. When the eggs hatch, the young emerge completely naked, without any Down feather. Toucans are resident breeders and do not bird migration. Toucans are usually found in pairs or small flocks. They sometimes fence with their bills and wrestle, which scientists hypothesize they do to establish dominance hierarchies. In Africa and Asia, occupy the toucans' ecological niche, an example of convergent evolution.
The Phylogenetics relationship between the toucans and the eight other families in the order Piciformes is shown in the cladogram below. The number of species in each family is taken from the list maintained by Frank Gill, Pamela C. Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC).
The phylogenetic tree below shows the relationships of the toucans with the toucan-barbet and New World barbet genera, according to a 2023 study by Ostrow et al.
The legs of the toucan are strong and rather short. Their toes are arranged in pairs with the first and fourth toes turned backward. The majority of toucans do not show any sexual dimorphism in their coloration, the genus Selenidera being the most notable exception to this rule (hence their common name, "dichromatic toucanets"). However, the bills of female toucans are usually shorter, deeper and sometimes straighter, giving more of a "blocky" impression compared to male bills. The feathers in the genus containing the largest toucans are generally purple, with touches of white, yellow, and scarlet, and black. The underparts of the araçaris (smaller toucans) are yellow, crossed by one or more black or red bands. The toucanets have mostly green plumage with blue markings.
The colorful and large beak, which in some large species measures more than half the length of the body, is the hallmark of toucans. Despite its size, the toucan's bill is very light, being composed of bone struts filled with spongy tissue of keratin between them, which take on the structure of a Biofoams. The bill has forward-facing resembling teeth, which historically led naturalists to believe that toucans captured fish and were primarily carnivorous; today it is known that they eat mostly fruit. Researchers have discovered that the large bill of the toucan is a highly efficient thermoregulation system, though its size may still be advantageous in other ways. It does aid in their feeding behavior (as they sit in one spot and reach for all fruit in range, thereby reducing energy expenditure), and it has also been theorized that the bill may intimidate smaller birds, so that the toucan may plunder nests undisturbed (see Diet below). The beak allows the bird to reach deep into tree-holes to access food unavailable to other birds, and also to ransack suspended nests built by smaller birds. sleeping.]]A toucan's tongue is long (up to ), narrow, grey, and singularly frayed on each side, adding to its sensitivity as a tasting organ. A structural complex probably unique to toucans involves the modification of several tail . The rear three vertebrae are fused and attached to the spine by a ball and socket joint. Because of this, toucans may snap their tail forward until it touches the head. This is the posture in which they sleep, often appearing simply as a ball of feathers, with the tip of the tail sticking out over the head.
For the most part the toucans are forest species, and restricted to primary forests. They will enter Secondary forest to forage, but are limited to forests with large old trees that have holes large enough to breed in. Toucans are poor dispersers, particularly across water, and have not reached the West Indies. The only non-forest living toucan is the toco toucan, which is found in savannah with forest patches and open woodlands.
Toucans often spend time sparring with their bills, tag-chasing, and calling during the long time it takes for fruit to digest. These behaviours may be related to maintenance of the pair bond or establishing dominance hierarchies, but the time required to digest fruit, which can be up to 75 minutes and during which the toucan can not feed, provides this time for socializing.
The family has been used prominently in advertising. During the 1930s and 1940s Guinness beer advertising featured a toucan, as the black and white appearance of the bird mirrored the stout. A cartoon toucan, Toucan Sam, has been used as the mascot of Froot Loops breakfast cereal since 1963, and a toucan is the mascot of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party; its party members are called tucanos for this reason.
Toucans have also been used in popular media. They have been used as the principal characters in Toucan Tecs, a 1992 UK television cartoon about two detectives named Zippi and Zac. In Dora the Explorer, the character Señor Túcan is a Spanish-speaking toucan who occasionally gives Dora and her friends advice. Tuca, the anthropomorphic title character of the 2019 show Tuca & Bertie is a Toucan, and the companion of the song thrush Bertie. In the 2016 Nintendo 3DS game Pokémon Sun and Moon, the Pokémon Toucannon was modeled after a Toco Toucan (its pre-evolutions, by contrast, were inspired by pileated woodpeckers).
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