English             -               Toco Toucan

Portuguese      -               Tucanuçu     

Latin                 -                Ramphastos Toco      

The Toco Toucan, also known as the Common Toucan, Giant Toucan or simply Toucan, is the largest and probably the best known species in the Toucan Family.                                             

Toco Toucans have striking plumage with a black body, white throat and a blue or orange eye ring. Their most noticeable feature, however, is its huge yellow beak with a black or blue tip, which looks heavy but is incredibly light because the inside is hollow.  They have Blueish strong feet and toes to support their weight with two toes pointing forward and two pointing backward. Toco Toucans are around 64 cm long, with their beaks that measure up to 23 cm and can weigh up to 876 g. They also have wingspan of up to 119cm. Both sexes look alike but the female is generally smaller than the male. Toco Toucans usually live in pairs or groups called flocks. They talk to each other using toad likes noises. When a Toco Toucan wants to sleep it turns its head so that its long bill rests on its back, then folds its long tail neatly over the bill. In the wild, the longevity of the Toco Toucan is typically 20 years, which might extend up to a maximum of 26. However, in captivity, their lifespan decreases to about 18 years. Toucans have a number of predators in the South American jungle including humans, large birds of prey and wild cats. Weasels, snakes and rats tend to prey more on their eggs rather than the toucans themselves.           

Toco Toucans thrive over a wide range of habitats and locations throughout much of the Neotropical region. They are native to the countries of Argentina, Peru, French Guiana, Bolivia, Paraguay, Suriname, and Brazil. They are most commonly found in dry semi-open areas, which include regions such as woodland, savanna, plantations, and other regions that consist of scattered trees. In Brazil, Toco Toucans have been found in abundance in the “cerrado.” Brazil’s cerrado consists of savanna, semi-deciduous, and gallery forests surrounding river corridors. Toco Toucans move from one habitat and region to the next in order to satisfy their dietary needs. They are typically found at lowland elevations. However they have been sighted in elevations of up to 1750 m around the Andes mountain range. 

Toco Toucans are canopy frugivores whose diet is composed mainly of fruits. They rely heavily on the availability of seasonal fruiting plants, but they are considered to be opportunistic feeders and will sometimes prey upon insects, frogs, lizards, small birds and, occasionally eggs which really makes them omnivorous. 

Toco Toucan reproduction cycle is annual. When breeding, they search for fallen trees with holes for nesting sites. After mating, the female lays a clutch of two to five eggs. The eggs are incubated for 16-20 days by both the father and the mother. After the chicks hatch, both parents continue to care for the hatchlings. The hatchlings have bare-skin, their eyes are closed and they are helpless at birth until they are about 6 to 8 weeks old, after which they begin to fledge. The nestlings are born with a dull colour, and with a much smaller beak that grows along with their physical development. The range age of sexual or reproductive maturity in both the male and the female is 3 to 4 years. Toco Toucans are very protective of themselves and their chicks.

Because Toco Toucans can live in a variety of habitats, are considered fairly common and they are not as susceptible to rainforest destruction as other species, they are listed by the IUCN as being a species ”of least concern”, meaning its population is not threatened or vulnerable, though its numbers have been decreasing in the wild due to the illegal pet trade industry.

All photos of the Toco Toucans were taken at Parque das Aves - Foz do Iguacu - Parana.