the toucans of the tropical and subtropical areas means, and quite distinctive birds are South America with its huge beak and the colorful beak and plumage-coloring. Since they are very active also in its behavior, provided one makes only sufficient place available for them, they turn fast into audience-darlings in captivity. Although toucans look like the old-terrestrial rhinoceros-birds, they are not nearer relative with them but counts to the woodpecker-birds, those however to the Racken screws n.
Way of life The beaks of the toucans consist of massive horn or bones not but is constructed in "easily-construction-manner." One fragile working latticework from thin Knochenbälkchen, high solidity gives the beak and simultaneously such a low weight that sent the birds it as versatile tools can start. it is enough to the widening a tree-cave chosen as hotbed, however, however, toucans cannot use its beak for the clearing a new brood-cave. they like to therefore cover woodpecker-caves and others already existing tree-holes.
As inhabitants of dense forests, the toucans with its short, rounded off wings are especially well prepared for the flight over longer routes. The flight-picture is, as also with most woodpeckers, undulating. A few fast flaps give buoyancy sufficiently, about after it a short moment, to glide. In the branches, toucans are for it all the more movable; its legs are very powerful, and the toes face each other few-y so that the birds can hold well in the branch-work.
Toucans live other small invertebrates on a multiplicity of fruits, insects, and also from small vertebrates. Only occasionally, the "pepper-gluttons" take pepper-pods (red chili-pepper) to itself also once. The name "Toucan" derives from the Indian "Toco."
Males and females are usually uniformly colored; however becomes the male toucans somewhat bigger and its beaks a little longer.
Types The family includes the 3-4 types of the Arassaris according to opinion, that into an independent type supplied 33 cm long gold or gold-breast-toucan (Baillonius bailloni) from Brazil's southeast, the blue-toucans (type Andigena) with blue until blue-gray underside and olivbraunem back-plumages from the Andes-high-situations and finally the toucans of the type Ramphastus. The biggest representatives of the family supply these; its tails are long in contrast to this and pointed running out pushes of the Arassaris more shortly and rounded off. Besides the fisher-toucan (Ramphastus sulfuratus) with the most colorful beak of all toucan-types, also the greenhorn or colorful-toucan (Ramphastus dicolorus) belongs from southeast-Brazil, Paraguay and North-Argentina as well as the giant-toucan (R). toco, as biggest type to this type.
Beak-function Which meaning the mighty and nevertheless very easy beak has, is not yet properly clarified. Surely the beak serves also the deterrence of some smaller enemies, against gripping-birds and martens, it should help only little. The showy and different beak-coloring of the individual toucans lets closed from Artgenossen on a signal-function for recognizing. The thesis that toucans with these long structures can pick also still distant fruits of thin branches, that would break off when entering, is quite insufficient. Toucans seize a berry with the top of the beak, she toss a little high and then drop it into the pharynx behind. The toothed crusts of the horn-beak are used for the adherence and are cut apart bigger fruits.
Habitat Toucans only leave its habitat unwillingly in the branch-work of the tree-giants highly above. they are on well tried in this biotope with its physique and behavior at the life. Even the partially glaring colors of its plumage and the beaks hardly attract attention in the foliage. However, toucans live withdrawn on no account but pull through the jungle loudly calling on the search of fruits, insects and also smaller vertebrates in small troops. They undertake also small hikes according to maturity-condition of the fruits on that occasion, never leaves the forest, however. Also to drinking and Baden, they visit rain-puddles in tree-holes, rarely only, one finds it of riversides.
Toucans are quite versatile in its entire behavior: Beside vegetable food, they take, as already mentions, also miscellaneous animals at; even the eggs and nest-boys of other birds are very popular as loot. Frequently, they fence with its big beaks or toss fruits everything processes, that work "playfully" for the observer, into the air, that is caught by a partner. In captivity, toucans prove as very curiously and becomes easily tame, has not yet brooded with success here, however. Native Americans stopped these active birds already before America's conquest of the Europeans free-flying in its settlements.
Peculiarly, the sleep-attitude of the toucans appears: the beak is put on the back and the tail then is over it-turned forward until the whole bird like a ball works.
Reproduction As is quite little known with so many types of animal of South America also over the brood-biology of the toucans, that is to be observed only very heavily furthermore in its natural biotope over longer time. they sleep (in groups) and nest in tree-caves, preferably in woodpecker-caves, that frequently do it debatable first the actual inhabitants and also widen occasionally. The brood-area is padded not usually particularly, sometimes, wood-chips or the again from-choked and indigestible Früchtereste lie on the ground as "cushions."
Both parents erbrüten approximately for 16 days the 2-4 eggs, with what they very frequently (hourly or faster) shift during the day, probably breeds only the female at night. The fisher-toucan looks after those of bare slipped, blind boys for 6-7 weeks. The sub-beak is initial longer than the waiter-beak, the whole structure still is wide and flat, and at the heel-joints, thick horn-calluses sit, that protect the nestling crouching on the heels from the Durchscheuern. Until the fully-fledged-development, the horn-calluses recede, however, the beak is fully from-colored only after several months.
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