Giant toucan

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Giant toucan
Giant toucan (ramphastos toco)

Giant toucan ( ramphastos toco )

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Woodpecker birds (Piciformes)
Family : Toucans (Ramphastidae)
Genre : Ramphastus
Type : Giant toucan
Scientific name
Ramphastos toco
Statius Müller , 1776
Head and beak
Giant toucan
portrait

The Toco Toucan ( Ramphastos toco ) is a bird art from the family of toucans (Ramphastidae) and the order of the woodpeckers (Piciformes). It is a very large species of toucan with a strikingly colored orange beak, which makes the species distinctive. It occurs exclusively in South America and is the only toucan species that largely avoids closed forest areas.

There are two subspecies. The IUCN classifies the giant toucan as harmless ( least concern ), but no more precise population figures are available for this species. However, fishing toucans are listed in Appendix II / B of the Washington Convention .

Appearance

measurements and weight

The giant toucan reaches a body length of 56 to 62 centimeters. The males of the nominate form have an average beak length of 20 centimeters, the beak length of the subspecies Ramphastos toco albogularis is slightly smaller at 18.7 centimeters. Females generally have smaller beaks. The females of the nominate form have an average beak length of 17.9 centimeters and those of the subspecies R. t. albogularis 16.5 centimeters. This is the largest beak of any species of toucan. The weight varies between 640 and 860 grams for the males and between 500 and 695 grams for the females.

Plumage and beak

Adult giant toucans have mostly shiny black plumage. Only the chin, the ear covers and the sides of the neck are white. The throat varies from pale to bright yellow. However, this yellow throat is usually not seen when observing in the field. The black feathers on the upper throat area have a narrow red tip and form a narrow reddish band. The upper tail-coverts are white, the under-tail coverts are red.

The beak is very long and narrow. At the end of the upper beak there is a large, longitudinally drawn black spot. There is a black transverse band at the base of the beak. The rest of the beak is red-orange, with the back of the beak ( culmen ) being the reddest. The inside of the beak is yellow and turns into a purple towards the head. The featherless skin around the eye is usually orange. Some individuals are yellowish green under the eye. A narrow and bulging blue eye ring runs around the eye. The eyes are brown and vary from a pale brown to a light gray-blue. The feet and legs are bluish to gray-blue.

Young birds are generally a little more dull and paler in color. Their plumage is rather soot-colored and not shiny. The large beak spot on the upper beak is brownish to black-brown in them, the feathered facial skin is matt white.

distribution and habitat

Toucan (Iguazu National Park)

The giant toucan inhabits the lowland regions in eastern South America from Suriname to northeastern Argentina . In the west, the species reaches the Andes foreland in Bolivia and Peru . The giant toucan is the only type of toucan that also inhabits semi-open terrain.

In the northeast of the distribution area, the giant toucan is mostly at sea level. In eastern Bolivia it still occurs at altitudes of 1200 meters. In the department of Chuquisaca it was even observed at 1750 meters above sea level.

habitat

The giant toucan prefers open terrain that is loosely covered with individual trees. It occurs accordingly in savannah areas with palm trees, a few groves or riparian forests and populates the edges of forest islands and gallery forests . It is also found on coconut and other plantations, palm groves, and even in tree-lined suburbs. Unlike many other species of the genus Ramphastos , the giant toucan crosses treeless regions without hesitation. Troops of giant toucans typically fly one behind the other.

Food and diet

Giant toucans live individually, in pairs, or in small flocks, which rarely contain more than nine individuals. Basically it lives less socially than other species of the real toucan . It usually hangs in the treetops and even occasionally goes on the ground to pick up fallen fruit. He can be seen regularly when he stands on dead branches in the treetops and lets out his calls from there.

The food of the giant toucan consists mainly of fruits , but insects , bird eggs , young birds and other small animals are not spurned by it. The toucan uses its huge beak to pick larger fruits, squeeze them out and drink the juice. Smaller fruits are eaten whole. The food spectrum of the giant toucan includes guavas , peppers and oranges. The giant toucan regularly eats the eggs and nestlings of the yellow-tipped forehead bird in its range , with part of the flock fending off the adult yellow-tipped forehead birds and another looking for eggs and young in the nests. Hunting for house sparrows has also been observed in giant toucans kept in aviaries .

Reproduction

Young bird
Feeding a young bird
Giant toucan

The breeding season varies depending on the geographical latitude. In the Amazon region it falls from September to January, in Bolivia and western Argentina from October to February.

During the breeding season, giant toucans show an intraspecific aggressive behavior in which they turn their beak and head towards a conspecific. If it is close enough, they also chop at it or grab its beak. They regularly hit their beak hard against branches. Mated birds clean each other's plumage, occasionally a third individual is also involved. We know from captivity that they do not tolerate any other conspecific other than the partner bird in their vicinity until the time they lay eggs.

The nest cavity is usually a natural tree cavity, but it can also be dug in whole or in part in hollow, soft-wooded Mauritia palms . They also use burrows and termite mounds that the woodpecker has hacked.

The clutch consists of two to four eggs. The breeding season is 17 to 18 days. Usually both parent birds breed. The nestlings initially receive insects from the parent birds; the proportion of plant-based food increases with the age of the nestlings. They are fledged between 43 and 52 days of age, but the development of the beak lasts for up to a year.

Subspecies

There are two subspecies for the giant toucan. The subspecies Ramphastos toco albogularis occurs in the south of the range of this species. The distribution area extends from the south of Bolivia and the north of Paraguay via Mato Grosso , Goiás , Piauí and Bahia . Compared to the nominate form, this subspecies is somewhat smaller and has a shorter beak. The throat and chin are more clearly white.

Toucans and human

Giant toucan

The bird species is common in its habitat and is not considered endangered, but the massive destruction of its habitat, the tropical rainforest , could become a problem in the future. The giant toucan is (was) adored even by a South American tribe.

The giant toucan is the first species of toucan described by Europeans in 1555. Since they are very large and colorful toucans, which are therefore very attractive, they are shown in numerous zoological gardens and bird parks around the world. They are one of the species of toucan that is most commonly grown. Between 1982 and 1996 alone, a total of 109 young of this species were raised in 21 zoos around the world.

supporting documents

literature

  • Werner Lantermann: Toucans and Arassaris. Filander Verlag, Fürth 2002, ISBN 3-930831-46-5
  • Lester L. Short and Jennifer FM Horne: Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides - Ramphastidae, Capitonidae and Indicatoridae . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2001, ISBN 0-19-854666-1

Web links

Commons : Toucan  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Single receipts

  1. ↑ BirdLife Factsheet on the Giant Toucan , accessed December 23, 2010
  2. ↑ Lantermann, p. 188
  3. ↑ Short et al., P. 419
  4. ↑ Short et al., P. 420
  5. ↑ Short et al., P. 421
  6. ↑ Short et al., P. 421
  7. ↑ Lantermann, p. 189
  8. ↑ Short et al., P. 421
  9. ↑ Short et al., P. 422
  10. ↑ Short et al., P. 421
  11. ↑ Short et al., P. 422
  12. ↑ Short et al., P. 419
  13. ↑ Short et al., P. 421
  14. ↑ Lantermann, p. 190