Toucan

True Wild Life | Toucan | The toucan is a medium-sized bird native to the rain forests of central and South America and the Caribbean. There are more than 40 different species of toucan that inhabit the South American jungles today. The toucan is best known for it's large colourful beak that despite it's large size, is surprisingly light due to the fact that it is made of a substance called keratin (the same substance that makes up the nails and hair of many animals including humans) . The toucan's beak measures around half the toucans body length and is used for mating, feeding and defence purposes. The toucan's bill however, is not particularly strong and so it is used more to intimidate predators rather than to fight them off.

The toucan only has small wings as it dwells in forests and therefore do not need to travel large distances. The toucan's wingspan is roughly the same length as the toucans body. Although the toucan is able to fly, the toucan is not very good at flying and cannot be in the air for very long. Instead of using their wings to get around, the toucan hops between the tree branches using it curved toes and sharp claws to get a good grip on the narrow surface that it holds on to. Toucans are omnivorous birds and feed on a mixture of plants and animals. Toucans eat fruits, berries, nuts and seeds along with eggs, insects and small mammals and reptiles. The primary source of food for the toucan is the fruit which grows on the trees where the toucan lives.

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 the eggs of the toucan rather than the toucan itself (many small animals are generally intimidated by the toucan's large bill). Although toucans are generally solitary when feeding, toucans often live in small groups of around 6 or 7 birds. The bright colours of the toucan gives the toucan camouflage in the colourful rainforest canopy. However, due to their bright colours, toucans are often captured and sold as pets with toucans being popular animals in the exotic pet trade.

Toucans build their nest in trees in lay around 3 eggs. When the toucan chicks hatch, both the male toucan and the female toucan help to feed them and protect them from predators. The toucan chicks are born with small beaks that don't reach their full size for at least a few months.

Keel Billed Toucan

True Wild Life | Keel Billed Toucan | The keel billed toucan is also known as the rainbow billed toucan because of the colourful bill that the keel billed toucan has. The keel billed toucan's bill can reach lengths of nearly 20cm long and is around one third of the length of the keel billed toucan's body. The keel billed toucan's bill is one of the most colourful beaks in the bird world, and although it is more a green colour than anything else, the keel billed toucan's bill can be a mixture of green, red, yellow and orange in colour.

As with other species of toucan, the size of the keel billed toucan's bill does not affect the balance of the bird itself as it's bill is made out of a substance called keratin, which is extremely light but still very strong. Keratin is also the substance that makes up human hair and fingernails and can also be found in the teeth of many different animal species. The keel billed toucan is native to the jungles of South America where it lives in holes in the trees, often with several other keel billed toucan individuals. In order to ensure that there is enough space for them all, the keel billed toucan group all sleep with their beak and tail tucked under their body to create more room for the other birds.

The keel billed toucan has a diet that primarily consists of large quantities of different varieties of fruit and berries. However, due to the surprising dexterity of the keel billed toucan's bill, the keel billed toucan also feasts on bird eggs, insects, lizards, and tree frogs should the keel billed toucan feel peckish and in the absence of fruit. The keel billed toucan is an extremely sociable bird and is very rarely seen on it's own. As well as nesting together, the keel billed toucan travels in small flocks which usually contain between 6 and 15 keel billed toucan individuals. Despite what people think though, the keel billed toucan is not very good at flying and does most of its moving about by hopping between the tree branches.

A female keel billed toucan lays between 1 and 5 eggs in a hollow tree, which usually hatch within a few weeks. Both the male and female keel billed toucan incubate the eggs and both keel billed toucan parents also feed and look after their keel billed toucan chicks until they are old enough and strong enough to fend for themselves. Large birds of prey and humans are the keel billed toucan's main predators. However, many other animal species prey on the eggs of the keel billed toucan such as other birds, weasels, snakes and the occasional monkey.