Toco toucan

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Toco toucan
toucan with black body, white throat, blue skin surrounding brown eye, and large orange bill with black spot on the tip

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Ramphastidae
Genus: Ramphastos
Species:
R. toco
Binomial name
Ramphastos toco
Map of South America, with yellow shading depicting the species' range

The toco toucan (Ramphastos toco) is a

gallery forests, and the wetlands of the Pantanal
.

Toco toucans mainly feed on fleshy fruits, but also supplement their diets with insects, eggs, and nestlings of other birds. They will eat any available sugar-rich fruits, and show a high level of variation in their diet depending on the surrounding habitat. Breeding is seasonal, with the timing of the breeding season differing between regions. Nests are usually made in hollows in trees and contain two to four eggs; both parents incubate the eggs for 17–18 days before hatching. It is considered to be of

Least Concern by BirdLife International
.

Taxonomy and systematics

The oldest known remains of the toco toucan date back to around 20,000 years ago, from

mergansers, and some ducks. Belon's description and ideas remained influential until the eighteenth century.[4]

The species was

Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.[3] In Tsimané, an indigenous language spoken in the Bolivian Amazon, it is known as yubibi.[12]

The toco toucan is one of eight

Ramphastidae.[10] In 1974, the German ornithologist Jürgen Haffer hypothesized that the Ramphastos toucans could be split into two clades (groups of organisms descending from a common ancestor): the "smooth-billed yelpers", comprising the chestnut-mandibled and yellow-throated toucans, and the "channel-keel-billed croakers", comprising the toco, red-breasted, keel-billed, Choco, and channel-billed toucans. He further postulated that the toco toucan was basal (closest to the root of the phylogenetic tree) within the group of channel-keel-billed croakers.[13] Later studies of mitochondrial DNA have largely confirmed the existence of these two clades, but have found the toco toucan to be basal within the family instead of being a part of the channel-keel-billed croakers.[14][15] The following cladogram shows phylogenetic relationships within Ramphastos, based on a 2009 study by José Patané and colleagues:[a][15]

Ramphastos

Toco toucan (Ramphastos toco)

White-throated toucan (Ramphastos tucanus)

Yellow-throated toucan (Ramphastos ambiguus)

Keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus)

Red-breasted toucan (Ramphastos dicolorus)

Choco toucan (Ramphastos brevis)

Channel-billed toucan (Ramphastos vitellinus)

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized by the IOU:[10]

  • R. t. toco Statius Müller, 1776: found in the Guianas, north and northeastern Brazil, and south-eastern Peru.[10]
  • R. t. albogularis Cabanis, 1862:[b] Found in Paraguay, southern and eastern Brazil, northern Bolivia, and northern Argentina.[10] Very similar to the nominate subspecies, but is said to be slightly smaller, with a shorter bill and whiter throat; however, measurements of individuals from both subspecies have found that differences in size are not consistent.[11]

Description

Adult toco toucan and smaller juvenile toco toucan perching on a branch
Adult (left) and juvenile toucan
sulfur yellow to orange. A small patch of feathers near the lores is white and the orbital skin below the eye is sometimes greenish-yellow.[3][11][16]

The extremely long and thin bill is usually reddest along the top of the

tomia. The beak varies in length from 173 to 215 mm (6.8 to 8.5 in) in male toucans and 158 to 202 mm (6.2 to 8.0 in) in females; on average, it is 200.5 mm (7.89 in) long in males and 178.6 mm (7.03 in) long in females. The base of the beak is black, forming a band thickest at the bottom of the mandible. The tip of the maxilla has a large black oval, which shines intensely when seen in light.[3][11][16]

The beak looks heavy, but as in other toucans it is relatively light because the inside largely is hollow. The tongue is nearly as long as the bill and very flat. Other than the size difference, there are no external differences between the sexes. Juveniles are duller and shorter-billed than adults. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 22 to 26 cm (8+1⁄2 to 10 in), the tail is 14.1 to 17.9 cm (5+9⁄16 to 7+1⁄16 in) and the tarsus is 4.8 to 6.5 cm (1+7⁄8 to 2+9⁄16 in).[16] Toco toucans are known to exhibit partial leucism.[17]

Vocalizations

The species' voice consists of a variety of grunting, croaking, or snoring notes similar to those given by

toads, including "groomkk", "grunt", "grunnkkt", "kkreekk", "grenggkt", "grr", "ggrekkekk", "arkk-rk", "rrraa", and "rrro-rrro". These notes can be made singly or in a long series, with up to 50 notes given per minute. The toucan's song is a series of grunting notes. Other calls include a murmured "te-te-te" and "ehh-ehh" vocalizations made by immatures of the species. Sounds are also made non-vocally, by hitting the bill against a branch.[3][11][16]

Although the toco toucan is unlikely to be confused visually with any other species, its vocalizations may be confused for those of the red-breasted and channel-billed toucans. The toco toucan's calls are deeper and less resonant than the calls of both of those species. Additionally, the fast parts of its calls are slower than the corresponding portions of the red-breasted toucan's calls.[3][11]

Distribution and habitat

Montage of two photos of a toco toucan in flight
Toco toucan flying in the Brazilian Pantanal

The toco toucan is

resident, but will sometimes move en masse in search of food.[11]

Unlike other toucans, toco toucans do not inhabit continuous, closed-canopy forests, instead preferring a variety of semi-open habitats such as

savannas, forests adjoining water bodies, woodlands and secondary forest, chaco, plantations, orchards, and groves.[11] It is especially common in the Brazilian cerrado, a form of tropical savanna, and gallery forests. It is also common in the wetlands of the Pantanal.[21] It is known to inhabit altitudes of up to 1,750 m (5,740 ft).[1]

Behavior and ecology

Toco toucans are typically seen when flying or feeding in treetops, hopping from branch to branch. Their flight is somewhat undulating because they switch between heavy flapping and gliding when flying.[11] Toco toucans, like other toucans, have large home ranges, with an average size of 86 hectare. They are more widely dispersed than other toucans, who do not cross large bodies of water, and are able to sustain flight across water bodies over 5 km wide.[22]

Toco toucans are less active during the day, occasionally resting in treetops. They are less

gregarious than other toucans and usually feed alone or in small groups at fruiting trees. When foraging together, toucans fly from treetop to treetop in single file. Members of a group will often preen each other, although this behaviour usually ends after egg-laying occurs, as mates begin to exclusively preen each other.[11] After the end of the breeding season, toco toucans will sometimes form large flocks that fly around forests searching for fruit. These flocks may sometimes include other species like the white-throated toucan.[3]

Bill

Further information: Toco toucan beak
Photo of toco toucan's head emphasizing the large beak
Close-up of toco toucan beak

The bill is serrated and is the largest relative to body size of all birds providing 30 to 50% of its body surface area, although another

Neotropical species, the sword-billed hummingbird, has a longer bill relative to its body length.[23] Further suggestions have included aid in peeling fruit, intimidating other birds when robbing their nests, social selection related to defense of territory, and as a visual warning.[23][24]

Research has shown that one function is as a surface area for heat exchange. The bill has the ability to modify blood flow and so regulate heat distribution in the body, allowing for the use of the bill as a thermal radiator.[23] In terms of surface area used for this function, the bill relative to the bird's size is amongst the largest of any animal and has a network of superficial blood vessels supporting the thin horny sheath on the bill made of keratin called the rhamphotheca.

In its capacity to remove body heat, the bill is comparable to that of elephant ears. The ability to radiate heat depends upon air speed: if this is low, only 25% of the adult bird's resting heat production is radiated; if high, it radiates as much as four times this heat production. In comparison, the bill of a duck and the ears of an elephant can shed only about 9% of resting heat production. The bill normally is responsible for 30 to 60% of heat loss. The practice of toco toucans of placing their bills under their wings may serve to insulate the bill and reduce heat loss during sleep. It has been observed that "complexities of the vasculature and controlling mechanisms needed to adjust the blood flow to the bill may not be completely developed until adulthood."[23]

Toco toucan beaks can suffer from a number of deformities, such as crossed mandibles, the absence of up to half of the upper or lower mandible, and perforations.[25]

Diet

Toco toucan swallowing a chunk of papaya while perched on the tree next to the fruit
Toco toucan feeding on papaya

Toco toucans are

generalist frugivores that primarily feed on fleshy fruits, but also commonly supplement their diets with insects, eggs, and nestlings of other birds. Foraging usually takes place in the canopy, but toucans will also visit the understory and ground to feed on fallen fruits.[11] Toucans are known to feed on a variety of fleshy fruit, most notably figs.[11] Other plants that fruit year-round and feature significantly in the species's diet include Cecropia pachystachya and Inga laurina.[21][26] Toucans will also opportunistically feed on any available sugar-rich fruits, and display a high level of variation in their diet depending on the surrounding habitat.[27] In deciduous forests with a year-round supply of figs, toucans do not show significant change from season to season in their diet.[28] In areas with significant variation in the availability of fleshy fruits, toucans are more common during the fruiting season, and subsequently move to other habitats when fruit availability declines.[27][28]

Plants that have been recorded as contributing majorly to the toco toucan's diet include Genipa americana, Ficus luschnatiana, and Virola sebifera in gallery forest,[21][27] Schefflera macrocarpa, Copaifera langsdorffii, Didymopanax morototoni, and Nectandra cissiflora in the cerrado,[27][29] and Guibourtia hymenaefolia and D. morototoni in semi-deciduous forests.[28] During the dry season when the availability of fruits declines, toco toucans will also feed on flowers of species such as Handroanthus chrysotrichus and Erythrina fusca.[30]

The insects most commonly consumed by toco toucans are caterpillars and termites.

cactus wrens, and Gambel's quails.[11]

Breeding

Toco toucans show several changes in behavior during their nesting season, becoming more secretive and solitary in habit.

undertail coverts; their large, conspicuous bill may also be used in breeding displays.[11]

Nesting is seasonal, but timing of the breeding season differs between regions. Breeding has been observed from September to January in

termite mounds. Nests are sometimes made in cavities excavated by other species of birds: recorded instances include nests in cavities made by campo flickers and cream-backed woodpeckers.[11][34] Successful breeding has also been observed in urban areas, although high levels of human-caused disturbances, such as construction activities, around the nest can lead to abandonment by the parents.[34] Captive birds have been observed cleaning their nests early on, but the nests are eventually filled with droppings and fruit seeds.[11]

Toucans usually breed annually in the wild, but have been reported breeding multiple times a year in captivity. Females lay two to four eggs, which are incubated by both parents for 17–18 days, after which they hatch.[11] Chicks can be detected by the loud begging calls they make in the absence of their parents.[3] Hatchlings are initially fed mostly insects, with the proportion of fruit in their diet increasing as they age. Chicks fledge 43–52 days after hatching.[11]

  • Hatchling toco toucans with yellowish beaks, pale pink skin, and black-and-white pin feathers on the body
    Hatchlings
  • Young toco toucans with black body, white throat, and pale yellow beak sitting on a layer fruit seeds in their nest
    Young at nest; note the layer of fruit seeds at the bottom of the nest.
  • An adult toucan feeding its young a small, round, green fruit
    Adult toucan feeding young

Interactions with other species

Like other toucans, toco toucans are significant

invasive plants, like Royostenia oleracea and Elaeis guineensis, do represent significant portions of their diet. Toco toucans may help spread such invasive species to forest fragments and rural areas near cities, helping them become established and accelerating the process of invasion.[22][36]

Toco toucans are also an especially important seed disperser for the manduvi tree, being responsible for over 83% of the seed dispersal of that species. The endangered hyacinth macaw nests near-exclusively in hollows in manduvi trees, leading to an indirect dependency on the toco toucan, despite the latter species being responsible for over half of egg predation of the hyacinth macaw.[37] Toco toucans may also be ecologically significant nest predators for species which nest in areas with few other terrestrial predators, such as cliffs.[33]

No specific predators of the toco toucan are known, but toucans in general are known to be hunted by monkeys and large

trematodes.[42]

Relationship with humans

Conservation

Dublin, Ireland

Because it prefers open

pet trade;[11] the large flocks it forms after the breeding season were previously known to be hunted heavily for meat, with their bills being kept as a souvenir.[3] The impact of hunting on the population is unknown.[11] A 2023 study of the wildlife trade in toucans found that toco toucans were the second most commonly traded species over a period from 1975 to 2018. They were exported from a greater range of Latin American countries than other toucans and were the most expensive, with an average retail price of US$12,450 in 2020 (equivalent to $14,660 in 2023) and some specimens fetching up to $13,400 (equivalent to $15,800 in 2023).[43]

Culture

Toco toucans are one of the best-known

honey hunter.[47] The toco toucan was part of one of the most famous ad campaigns for Guinness, an Irish brand of stout.[48] The toucan is the symbol of the centre-right Brazilian Social Democracy Party.[49]

Notes

  1. ^ The study treated the citron-throated toucan (R. citreolaemus) as a subspecies of the channel-billed toucan (R. vitellinus).[15]
  2. ^ albogularis means "white-throated" and is derived from the Latin albus, meaning "white", and the Modern Latin gularis, meaning "-throated".[9]

References

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External links

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