Bird tukan: habitat, photo and description

When young children try to draw birds, they often depict them with hypertrophied features. And then in the figure there are huge wings, eyes or beaks. In the latter case, babies can not be so wrong. It is possible that their picture depicts an unusual bird - toucan. It is often seen in pictures with tropical forests. It is actually a symbol of such a climate.

But besides being famous as a tropical inhabitant, the tukan is very, very interesting. Moreover, it is unique. So, what is so different about the tukan bird from its many feathered brethren?

Helpful information

To start a small reference from ornithology. Is there really such a unique, in its way, bird tukan? The description of its unusual form should begin with the most remarkable part - the beak. And he is really outstanding in the Toucan. Both literally and figuratively. It would be more accurate to say, not with toucan, but with toucans. After all, under this name alone there are more than 30 species of birds belonging to 6 genera. They are called Tukan. Though belong, surprisingly, to the unit of the Woodpeckers. But the popularity of all these birds acquired the most charismatic representative - a large toucan. It is sometimes called "Toko". And the name got the bird itself from the scream, which practically reproduces this word.

Where does he live?

Of course, Toko does not occur in our region. The habitat of the tukan bird is a thicket 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 a Toko bird and in the mountains - it can easily live at an altitude of 3000 meters above sea level. At the same time, the thicket, dark and gloomy, does not like the toucan. But light forest edges, groves near human habitation, palm tops are his favorite habitat. By the way, in countries located in the tropical belt, the toucan occurs on the streets about as often as the pigeon in the central strip of Russia.

Vote

But unlike the pigeon, Toko is a very, very unusual representative of the feathered kingdom. The description of the bird toucan should start with her voice. If you want to hear the real call of the jungle, just listen to the Toko song. He knows how to not only shout his victorious cry "Tokano!", But also parody many of the inhabitants of the tropics, and so that any parrot obzaviduetsya. Although, in general, the voice of this bird is far from angelic. In addition, he also knows how to make characteristic clicks with the help of his beak. But the conversation is special.

Beak - the pride of a bird

What is known to all the bird is a toucan, so it's its own giant beak. It can reach a value of 20 cm, which is about one-third of the total size of the current. It itself 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 the most common of his relatives - a woodpecker.

With its rather large size, the beak of the toucan is very light. It represents a real achievement of engineering thought, only embodied not by man, but by nature itself. First, it has notches on the edges, similar to the blade of a saw, helping the toucan to obtain food for itself. Secondly, it is very light - in fact unlike other birds, Toko does not have a monolithic goiter, but hollow. Nature provides for the presence of cavities of bone tissue and keratin membranes in it.

With all this, it is not only lightweight, but also very durable. And its remarkable bright orange color makes the tukana conspicuous, even when this bird is silent. But the toko's body is very awkward - large, covered with hard feathers. But here's a color scheme it can emulate any fashionista. How is the toucan colored? You have seen it many times in books. Outwardly it is a strict bird, which seems to be dressed in a frock coat and a white shirt. This impression leaves black in mass plumage and a bright white taco collar.

But if you look closely, you can see piquant features that look beyond rigor - red bottom tail feathers, bright blue rims around the eyes, a tongue of a peculiar pinnate shape. This coloring completely coincides with the character of the Toucan - for all their bulkiness and massiveness, they are very curious and animated birds. And their habits also deserve a separate story.

To begin with, fly toucans are very bad. They prefer to sit in hollow tree trunks most of the day. They also equip their nest there. Toko - birds are sociable, and live in pairs or in small groups. Sometimes they can equip their way of life also in termites or shallow pits on the river bank. In addition, toko - just wonderful parents. About the offspring, they take care of a couple, take out 2-4 chicks, and only once a year.

Interesting

Scientists for a long time thought, why do you have such a big beak? Like they are not predators - they eat fruits and small insects. They are unlikely to be defeated by their enemies either - it is very light, and the enemies of the toucan are such that no beak is a hindrance to them - predators. Unless he can frighten him. But, as it turned out, a unique form, as well as an unusual language, is simply created for the gnawing of fruits of passion fruit or figs. And also for tossing berries - one toko tears off the fruit from the branch and throws it, and the second catches.

You can ask how the toucan manages to sleep with such a large beak? Does he outweigh the relaxed bird down? No, everything is much more interesting - the anatomy of the Toko is created by nature very thoughtfully - his head rotates perfectly 180 degrees, and the beak is snugly located on the back between the wings. Moreover, for the night the whole pack sleeps in one hollow. They take turns to get in front with their backs, to which the beak has already been laid. Then each toko presses its tail to the stomach, head to the chest, all this wraps its wings and turns into a cozy feathered ball.

Conclusion

Such an unusual bird is a big toucan. Very original and absolutely 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.