Toucan
Encyclopedia : T : TO : TOU : Toucan
- For other uses, see Toucan (disambiguation)}}}.
Toucans range in size from 18 to 63 cm (from 7 to 25 in). Their body is short and thick and the tail is rounded. The tail varies in length from half the length to the whole length of the body. The neck is short and thick while at the base of the head is a huge, brightly-colored beak that measures in some large species, more than half the length of the body. A Toucan's tongue is long, narrow, and singularly frayed on each side, adding to its sensibility as an organ of taste.
The legs of a Toucan are strong and rather short. Their toes are arranged in pairs with the first and fourth toe turned backward. Both males and females are the same color. The feathers in the genus containing the largest toucans are generally coloured black, with touches of white, yellow, and scarlet. The underparts of smaller aracari toucans are yellow, crossed by one or more black or red bands, and the edges of the beak are saw-toothed. The toucanets have mostly green plumage with blue markings.
Toucans are frugivorous (fruit-eating), but will take insects and other small prey such as small lizards. They are arboreal and nest in tree holes laying 2–4 white eggs. The young hatched are completely naked, without any down. They are resident breeders and do not migrate. Toucans are usually found in pairs or small flocks.
The name of this bird group is derived from Tupi tucana, via French.
Toucans in advertising
Toucans were used to advertise Guinness stout, and many collectables such as postcards and models with Guinness toucans on them may be found. Toucan Sam is the mascot of Kellogg's Froot Loops cereal. Y107 in Nashville used a "Tookie Bird" as their mascot.There is a European phone company called Toucan. Toucan is part of IDT Telecom, a subsidiary of global telecoms provider IDT Corp. They provide phone service, dial-up and broadband internet service as well as mobile services in the Netherlands and the UK including Northen Ireland, Scotland and Wales, bringing state-of the art communications to Europe, USA, Latin America, Africa and Asia. They have call centers in England, Ireland, India and Israel.
Toucans in fiction
A humorous derivation of the name of the bird features in David McKee's children's book "Two Can Toucan".
Wulffmorgenthaler comic strip features a character named 'Toucan kid', who is an offspring of a human and a toucan.
Species list
- Aulacorhynchus
- * Emerald Toucanet, Aulacorhynchus prasinus
- * Groove-billed Toucanet, Aulacorhynchus sulcatus
- * Chestnut-tipped Toucanet, Aulacorhynchus derbianus
- * Crimson-rumped Toucanet, Aulacorhynchus haematopygus
- * Yellow-browed Toucanet, Aulacorhynchus huallagae
- * Blue-banded Toucanet, Aulacorhynchus coeruleicinctis
- Pteroglossus
- * Lettered Aracari, Pteroglossus inscriptus
- * Green Aracari, Pteroglossus viridis
- * Red-necked Aracari, Pteroglossus bitorquatus
- * Ivory-billed Aracari, Pteroglossus azara
- * Brown-mandibled Aracari, Pteroglossus mariae
- * Chestnut-eared Aracari, Pteroglossus castanotis
- * Black-necked Aracari, Pteroglossus aracari
- * Collared Aracari, Pteroglossus torquatus
- * Fiery-billed Aracari, Pteroglossus frantzii
- * Stripe-billed Aracari, Pteroglossus sanguineus
- * Pale-mandibled Aracari, Pteroglossus erythropygius
- * Many-banded Aracari, Pteroglossus pluricinctus
- * Curl-crested Aracari, Pteroglossus beauharnaesii
- Baillonius
- * Saffron Toucanet, Baillonius bailloni
- Andigena
- * Plate-billed Mountain Toucan, Andigena laminirostris
- * Gray-breasted Mountain Toucan, Andigena hypoglauca
- * Hooded Mountain Toucan, Andigena cucullata
- * Black-billed Mountain Toucan, Andigena nigrirostris
- Selenidera
- * Yellow-eared Toucanet, Selenidera spectabilis
- * Golden-collared Toucanet, Selenidera reinwardtii
- * Tawny-tufted Toucanet, Selenidera nattereri
- * Guianan Toucanet, Selenidera culik
- * Spot-billed Toucanet, Selenidera maculirostris
- * Gould's Toucanet, Selenidera gouldii
- Ramphastos
- * Keel-billed Toucan, Ramphastos sulfuratus
- * Choco Toucan, Ramphastos brevis
- * Citron-throated Toucan, Ramphastos citreolaemus
- * Channel-billed Toucan, Ramphastos vitellinus
- ** Yellow-ridged Toucan, Ramphastos vitellinus culminatus
- * Red-breasted Toucan, Ramphastos dicolorus
- * Chestnut-mandibled Toucan, Ramphastos swainsonii
- * Black-mandibled Toucan, Ramphastos ambiguus
- * White-throated Toucan, Ramphastos tucanus, includes
- ** Red-billed Toucan, R. t. tucanus
- ** Cuvier's Toucan, R. t. cuvieri
- * Toco Toucan, Ramphastos toco
Image gallery
External links
- [link]
- [link]
- [link]
- [Toucan videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.