One of the strangest-looking of all birds is the toucan. In fact, it’s a kind of freak among birds.

To begin with, the toucan has an enormous bill, actually larger than its head! In some toucans, the bill is a third of the length of the entire bird. This bill is shaped like a great lobster claw and is marked with bright colors.

If you were to see a toucan, you would wonder how this bird can maintain its balance with such a bill. The answer is that the bill is very light for its size. It is paper-thin on the outside, and it’s reinforced on the inside with a honeycomb of bone. At its base, this bill is as large as the head of the bird. It has an irregular toothed or cutting surface along the edge.

The tongue of the toucan is also very unusual. It has side notches and is flat and featherlike. Another peculiar thing about the toucan is the way the tail is joined to the body. It seems to have a ball and socket he toucan can have this tail a jerk and raise it above its back.

The toucan is a tropical American bird that has a family of its own. It is related to such birds as the jacamars, puffbirds, barbets, and distantly to the woodpeckers. There are about 37 different species of toucans, the largest of which are about 60 centimeters in length.

The toucan’s appetite nearly equals its bill. It eats almost anything, and in captivity it has been trained to the most varied diet. At home in the forest it turns with equal greediness to fruits, or to the eggs and young of smaller birds. When feeding, it makes a chattering noise with its great bill. It also has a harsh, unmusical cry.

The toucans live together in small flocks in the depths of the Central and South American forests. Little is known of their life history, but it is believed that they make nests in the hollows of trees. Toucans are easily tamed and thrive in captivity.