Believe it or not, the Toucan bird has been flying around the Central and South American rainforests for a lot longer than any cereal company. The Toucan is noisy, friendly and cute, and eats fruit, nuts, and berries just like everyone else. In real life, Toucans hate sugary cereal and avoid it like the plague. You probably should, too. The toco toucan illustrated here is the largest member of its family, which comprises 37 species.
All toucans are inhabitants of South America, though some are found as far north as Mexico.
The function of their enormous bill has puzzled scientists for a long time. It is not a weapon, the toucan's usual enemies being much too strong to be fooled by even the heftiest bill. It is not a special tool for gathering food, since all toucans are fugivorous, and eat berries, seeds, and ripe fruit. Some ornithologists think it is simply a distinguishing feature, a visual threat to would-be competitors. But this hypothesis is not very convincing, since the bill of both the male and the female is exactly the same.