TOUCAN

n.

Any of about 40 species (family Ramphastidae) of large-billed, long-tailed Central and South American birds.

Many species are black with a bold breast colour; their thick, saw-edged bills are brightly and distinctively coloured. Bands of toucans emit loud barks, bugling calls, and harsh croaks. They eat fruit, insects, lizards, and nestling birds. Toucans deposit two to four eggs in an unlined natural tree cavity or an abandoned woodpecker hole. Ramphastos species are up to 24 in. (60 cm) long, a third of which may be the bill. Smaller species (toucanets) are 10–14 in. (25–35 cm) long.

Gray-breasted mountain toucan ( Andigena hypoglauca ).

Painting by John P. O'Neill