Next one is a large-billed beautiful animal from South America living in open spaces - Toco toucan.
Toco toucan
The Toco toucan is the largest and probably the best-known species in the toucan family. It has a striking plumage with a mainly black body, a white throat, chest and upper tail-coverts, and red under tail-coverts. What appears to be a blue iris is actually thin blue skin around the eye. This blue skin is surrounded by another ring of bare, orange skin. The most noticeable feature of this bird, however, is its huge bill, which measures up to 23 cm (9 in) in length; it is yellow-orange in color and with a black base and large spot on the tip. It looks heavy, but as in other toucans, it is relatively light because the inside largely is hollow. The tongue is nearly as long as the bill and very flat. The male and the female are similar in appearance and juveniles are duller and shorter-billed than adults.
Toco toucans are typically seen in pairs or small groups. They are active during the day spending their time feeding and flying from one site to another. They move in a single file and in flight alternate between a burst of rapid flaps with the relatively short, rounded wings, and gliding. Toco toucans feed in the tree canopies and on the ground where they move by hopping. The birds eat fruit using their bill to pluck them from trees; their long bill is also useful for reaching things that otherwise would be out-of-reach. Toucans may also walk and hop between the tree branches to reach their food. In order to communicate with each other Toco toucans will use various calls. Their voice consists of a deep, coarse croaking, often repeated every few seconds. They also have a rattling call and will bill-clack.
One of the functions of the Toco toucan bill is to serve as a surface area for heat exchange. The bill has the ability to modify blood flow and so regulate heat distribution in the body, allowing the bird to use its bill as a thermal radiator. In its capacity to remove body heat the bill of the Toco toucan is comparable to that of elephant ears. When toucan places its bill under its wings it insulates the bill and thus reduces the heat loss during sleep.
Distribution
The toco toucan occurs in northern and eastern Bolivia, extreme south-eastern Peru, northern Argentina, eastern and central Paraguay, and eastern and southern Brazil (excluding southern Rio Grande do Sul, the dry regions dominated by Caatinga vegetation and coastal regions between Ceará and Rio de Janeiro). Other disjunct populations occur along the lower Amazon River (Ilha de Marajó west approximately to the Madeira River), far northern Brazil in Roraima, coastal regions of the Guianas and it has been recently registered in north-west Uruguay. It only penetrates the Amazon in relatively open areas (e.g. along rivers). It is resident, but local movements may occur.
It can be found in a wide range of semi-open habitats such as woodland, savanna and other open habitats with scattered trees, Cerrado, plantations, forest-edge, and even wooded gardens. It is mainly a species of lowlands, but occurs up to 1,750 m (5,740 ft) near the Andes in Bolivia. It is easily seen in the Pantanal.
Conservation
Toco toucans are fairly common and are not currently endangered. However, their numbers are declining due to hunting and trapping of young birds for keeping as pets. The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Toco toucan total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List but its numbers today are decreasing.
That's it for today. See you all next time.
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