Toucan
Toucan Temporal range: Pleistocene – recent
Early | |
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Clockwise from top-left: toco toucan (Ramphastos toco), plate-billed mountain toucan (Andigena laminirostris), chestnut-eared aracari (Pteroglossus castanotis), white-throated toucanet (Aulacorhynchus albivitta) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Piciformes |
Suborder: | Pici |
Infraorder: | Ramphastides |
Family: | Ramphastidae Vigors, 1825 |
Genera | |
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Toucans (.
Toucans are
Taxonomy and systematics
The name of this bird group is derived from the Tupi word tukana or the Guaraní word tukã,[2] via Portuguese.[3] The family includes toucans, aracaris and toucanets; more distant relatives include various families of barbets and woodpeckers in the suborder Pici.
Description
Toucans range in size from the lettered aracari (Pteroglossus inscriptus), at 130 g (4.6 oz) and 29 cm (11 in), to the toco toucan (Ramphastos toco), at 680 g (1.50 lb) and 63 cm (25 in). Their bodies are short (of comparable size to a crow's) and compact. The tail is rounded and varies in length, from half the length to the whole length of the body. The neck is short and thick. The wings are small, as they are forest-dwelling birds who only need to travel short distances, and are often of about the same span as the bill-tip-to-tail-tip measurements of the bird.
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
The colorful and large
A toucan's tongue is long (up to 15 cm (5.9 in)), 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
Distribution and habitat
Toucans are native to the Neotropics, from Southern Mexico, through Central America, into South America south to northern Argentina. They mostly live in the lowland tropics, but the mountain species from the genus
For the most part the toucans are forest species, and restricted to primary forests. They will enter secondary forests 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.[9]
Behaviour and ecology
Toucans are highly social and most species occur in groups of up to 20 or more birds for most of the time. Pairs may retire from the groups during the breeding season, then return with their offspring after the breeding season. Larger groups may form during irruptions, migration or around a particularly large fruiting tree.[9]
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,[10] provides this time for socializing.[9]
Diet
Toucans are primarily
Breeding behaviour
Toucans nest in cavities in trees, and the presence of suitable trees is a habitat prerequisite for toucans. For the most part toucans don't excavate nesting cavities, although some green toucanets do.
Calls
Toucans make a variety of sounds. The very name of the bird (from Tupi) refers to its predominant frog-like croaking call, but toucans also make barking and growling sounds. They also use their bills to make tapping and clattering sounds. Mountain toucans are known for donkey-like braying.[17]
Relationship with humans
The toucans are, due to their unique appearance, among the most popular and well known birds in the world.
The family has been used prominently in advertising. During the 1930s and 1940s
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 and its previous evolutions were modeled after a Toco Toucan.[18]
See also
References
- ^ Ferrara, Sue. "The Difference Between A Toucan & A Hornbill". animals.mom.me. Pets on Mom. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
- ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ "Vocabulário Tupi-Português do Curso Elementar de Tupi Antigo" [Elementary Course for Tupi-Portuguese Vocabulary of the Old Tupi] (in Portuguese). Universidade de São Paulo. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2015 – via fflch.usp.br.
- )
- ISSN 0079-6425.
- S2CID 42756257.
- ^ "Hot secret behind toucan's bill". BBC News. 23 July 2009.
- .
- ^ a b c d e f g Short, L.L. & Horne, J.F.M. (2017). Toucans (Ramphastidae). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/52284 on 25 March 2017).
- JSTOR 2388685.
- JSTOR 1369399.
- ISBN 978-0-19-513310-3
- .
- ISBN 978-0-19-854666-5
- doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2007.12.023. Archived from the original(PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
- PMID 19324791.
- ^ San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance
- ^ "#733 Toucannon". Serebii.net. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
External links
- Video of a chestnut-mandibled toucan pair raising their chicks.