When young children try to draw birds, they often draw them with exaggerated features. And then huge wings, eyes or beaks appear in the picture. In the latter case, the kids may not be so wrong after all. It is possible that their drawing depicts an unusual bird - a toucan. It is she who can often be seen in pictures with tropical forests. She is actually a symbol of such a climate.
But besides its fame as a tropical inhabitant, the toucan is very, very interesting. Moreover, it is unique. So, how is the toucan bird so different from many of its feathered counterparts?
Useful information
First, a little background from ornithology. Does such a unique toucan bird really exist? The description of its unusual appearance should begin with the most remarkable part - the beak. And he is really outstanding in a toucan. Both literally and figuratively. It would be more accurate to say, not with a toucan, but with toucans. Indeed, under this name alone hides more than 30 species of birds belonging to 6 genera. That's what they are called - Tukanovye. Although they belong, oddly enough, to the Woodpecker order. But the popularity of all these birds has gained the mosta charismatic representative is a large toucan. It is also sometimes called "toko". And the very name of the toucan bird received from its cry, which practically reproduces this word.
Where does it live?
Of course, Toko is not found in our area. The habitat of the toucan bird is thickets of tropical forests. She is a habitual resident of the entire territory of Central and South America - from the north of Mexico to the south of Argentina. Sometimes you can meet the Toko bird in the mountains - it can easily live at an altitude of up to 3000 meters above sea level. At the same time, the toucan does not like the very thicket, dark and gloomy. But light forest edges, groves near human habitation, palm tops - this is his favorite habitat. By the way, in countries located in the tropical zone, the toucan is found on the streets about as often as the dove in central Russia.
Voice
But unlike the dove, Toko is a very, very unusual representative of the feathered kingdom. The description of the toucan bird should begin with its voice. If you want to hear the real call of the jungle, just listen to Toko singing. He masterfully knows how not only to shout his victory cry “tokano!”, but also to parody many inhabitants of the tropics, and in such a way that any parrot will be envious. Although, in general, the voice of this bird is far from angelic. In addition, he also knows how to make characteristic clicks with his beak. But there is a special conversation about him.
The beak is the pride of the bird
What everyone knows about the toucan bird is its simply gigantic beak. He canreach a value of 20 cm, which is approximately one third of the total size of the toko. He himself is about 60 cm in size - of course, we are talking about a large toucan, the largest representative of its kind. The rest can be much smaller, and sometimes do not exceed the size of their most common relative, the woodpecker.
With its rather large size, the beak of a toucan is very light. It is a real achievement of engineering, only embodied not by man, but by nature itself. First, it has notches along the edges, similar to a saw blade, helping the toucan to get its own food. Secondly, it is very light - after all, unlike other birds, Toko does not have a monolithic goiter, but a hollow one. Nature provides for the presence in it of cavities of bone tissue and keratin membranes.
With all this, it is not only light, but also very durable. And its remarkable bright orange color makes the toucan noticeable even when this bird is silent. But the body of Toko is very awkward - large, covered with hard feathers. But any fashionista can imitate its color scheme. How is the toucan bird painted? You have seen her photo more than once in books. Outwardly, this is a strict bird, which seems to be dressed in a frock coat and a white shirt. This impression is left by a mass of black plumage and a bright white toko collar.
But if you look closely, you can see the piquant features that are visible behind the severity - tail feathers red below, bright blue rims around the eyes, tonguepeculiar feathery shape. This coloring completely coincides with the character of the toucan - for all their bulkiness and massiveness, they are very curious and lively birds. And their habits also deserve a separate story.
Let's start with the fact that toucans fly very badly. They prefer to perch in hollow tree trunks for most of the day. They also build their nest there. Toko are sociable birds, and live in pairs or small groups. Sometimes they can also arrange their life in termite mounds or shallow pits on the river bank. In addition, Toko are just wonderful parents. They take care of the offspring as a couple, hatch 2-4 chicks, and only once a year.
Interesting
Scientists thought for a long time why the toucan has such a big beak? It seems that they are not predators - they eat fruits and small insects. They are also unlikely to defend themselves from enemies - it is very light, and the enemies of the toucan are such that no beak is a hindrance to them - predators. Unless he can intimidate him. But, as it turned out, a unique shape, as well as an unusual tongue, are simply created for cracking the fruits of passion fruit or figs. And also for tossing berries - one Toko tears off a fruit from a branch and throws it up, and the second one catches it.
How does a toucan manage to sleep with such a big beak, you may ask? Does it outweigh the relaxed bird down? No, everything is much more interesting - Toko's anatomy was created by nature very thoughtfully - his head turns perfectly 180 degrees, and his beak is comfortably located on his back between the wings. Moreover, at night the whole flock spends the night inone hollow. They take turns climbing back forward, on which the beak has already been laid. Then each toko presses its tail to its stomach, its head to its chest, wraps it all in wings and turns into a cozy feathered ball.
Conclusion
Such an unusual bird - a large toucan. Very original and completely unique. In addition to the features of behavior and appearance, they are also very social. In fact, toucans resemble children - direct, naive and very sociable. They are trusting, curious and easily tamed.
