Toco toucan

토코투칸

Its huge orange beak, a third of its body length, is surprisingly light and helps it shed heat. The tip reaches fruit on far-off twigs. It nests in tree holes in woodland and savanna.

See it on the 3D globe →

At a glance

Class: Birds
Lives in: Cerrado, Brazil
Diet: Eats both plants and meat (omnivore)
Weight: about 0.54 kg
Length: about 0.56 m
Lifespan: up to about 26 years
Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN LC)
Habitat: savannas, forests

Quick answers

Where does the Toco toucan live?

It lives in savannas, forests. On the globe you can find it near Cerrado, Brazil.

How big is the Toco toucan?

It grows to about 0.56 m and 0.54 kg.

What does the Toco toucan eat?

Its diet: eats both plants and meat (omnivore).

How long does the Toco toucan live?

It can live up to about 26 years.

Is the Toco toucan endangered?

It is listed as Least Concern (IUCN LC).

The toco toucan is the largest member of the toucan family, a bird about 56 centimetres long that weighs only around half a kilogram. It lives in South America, from the Guianas south to northern Argentina, in fairly open places such as the Cerrado grasslands of Brazil, savannas, riverside forests and the Pantanal wetlands. It has black feathers, a white throat, yellow-orange skin around a blue-ringed eye and an enormous orange bill with a black spot near the tip.

That bill is the toco toucan's most famous feature. It is the largest bill compared with body size of any bird, about a third as long as the whole bird. It looks heavy, but it is surprisingly light, because the inside is mostly hollow and the outside is a thin sheath of keratin, the same material as your fingernails. Scientists have also discovered that the bill works like a radiator that helps the bird cool down.

Amazing bill

In 2009 a team of scientists filmed resting toco toucans with a thermal camera, which shows heat. They found that the bird can send more or less blood through its bill. On a warm day, extra blood flows into it and the heat escapes into the air, just as an elephant loses heat through its large ears. In a breeze, the bill can give off up to four times as much heat as the bird's body makes while resting. On cold nights, toucans tuck their bills under their wings to keep warm.

What it eats

Toco toucans mostly eat juicy fruit, such as figs, guavas and peppers. The long bill lets them reach fruit at the ends of thin branches that would not hold their weight. They are omnivores, so they also eat insects such as caterpillars and termites, and sometimes the eggs and chicks of other birds or small animals. Because they swallow fruit and later drop the seeds elsewhere, they help new trees grow.

Family life

Toco toucans usually nest in holes in trees, but they may also use termite mounds or holes in riverbanks. The female lays two to four eggs, and both parents take turns keeping them warm for about 17 to 18 days. The chicks stay in the nest for about six to seven weeks before they can fly. The toco toucan is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, meaning it is not currently in danger of dying out, although some are hunted or caught for the pet trade.

Fun facts

Its huge bill is light because it is mostly hollow inside, with a thin keratin shell.
Compared with its body size, the toco toucan has the biggest bill of any bird in the world.
Its bill can give off up to four times as much heat as its resting body produces, working like a built-in air conditioner.
Toco toucans spread the seeds of many trees; for the manduvi tree, they do more than 83% of the seed spreading.
Toucans sleep with their bills tucked under their wings and their tails folded over their backs.

On the globe

The model shows a toco toucan with its huge orange bill in the Cerrado of Brazil. Zoom in to see how big the bill is compared with the rest of the bird.