### animal | vertebrate | bird:

Toucan
* All toucans are inhabitants of South America, though some are found as far north as Mexico.
* Many toucans roost in tree cavities
  - suffer from an iron storage disease called hemochromatosis
* Most toucans are black and yellow
  - canopy specialists in tropical or montane rainforest
  - consume fruit
  - develop beaks
  - eat insects
* Most toucans have ability
  - bills
  - black feathers
  - brains
  - eyesights
  - plumages
  - strike plumages
  - toes
  - tongues
* Most toucans live in habitats
  - rainforests
  - regions
  - tropical rainforests
  - year round in the same area
  - nest in tree holes
  - use bills
* Some toucans eat berries
  - spiders
* Some toucans have beaks
  - ecological roles
  - important ecological roles
  - take flight.
  * The 'Toucan' South American bird in the family 'Ramphastidae'. This social bird lives in small flocks in lowland rainforests. It poor flyer, and moves mostly by hopping around trees. Toucans roost in holes in trees
* adapt to their ecosystems by first finding the four resources needed for survival.
* also eat insects, small reptiles and amphibians and even baby birds
* also have a narrow, feather-like tongue
  - predators such as some wild cats, larger birds, snakes and rats
  - plunder the nests of other birds looking out for nestlings and eggs
* are active foragers in the forest canopy.
* are among Brazil s most beloved birds
  - the few tropical birds that are widely known to non-ornithologists
  - apparently monogamous
  - birds with variety in color as well as the size
  - but one of several major bird families that concentrate on fruit for their diets
* are considered frugivorous, meaning they eat mostly fruits and seeds
  - soft bill birds because the food they eat is soft
  - distinguished by large, colorful, yet lightweight bills
  - diurnal and they produce many different calls all of which are melodious
  - forgivers as well as omnivores
* are found in South and Central America in the canopy layer of the rainforest
  - large numbers in the Central and South American rainforests
  - gregarious
  - important seed-dispersers because they travel long distances through the forests
  - intelligent birds that enjoy playing games, like beak wrestling
  - known for their huge beaks , which can grow larger than their bodies
  - likely to lay their eggs in the same hole after year
  - omnivorous birds and feed on a mixture of plants and animals
  - omnivorous, which means they eat both plant and animal matter
  - playful birds and often engage in various games
  - primarily fruit-eaters, preferring the darkest, so ripest, fruit
  - related to woodpeckers
  - social birds who like to live in flocks
  - susceptible to certain diseases when exposed and when under stress
  - territorial birds during breeding season and are very active fliers
  - tireless entertainers that can be taught a variety of tricks
  - weak flyers and glide short distances
* can use their bill to keep cool.
* clean the cavity, leaving only a few chips to line the nest.
* combine their extensive vocal calls with tapping and clattering sounds from their bill.
  - gout if they ingest too many minerals in their diet
* eat fruit by snipping it with the tip of the bill
* feed on fruit and use the serrated edges of their bills to cut the fruit.
* fly all throughout the tropical South America to as far as northern Argentina.
* form monogamous pairs.
* generally have a black plumage that contrasts with their brightly colored throats and faces.
* go to rest at night.
* have a special liking for most varieties of tropical fruits available in the rainforests
  - wide variety of predators including larger birds, wild cats, and humans
  - advantage
  - compact bodies, small wings, and short necks
  - health issues such as hemotomachrosis that baffle even experts and avian veterinarians
  - many advantages over parrots as pets
  - rather slender bodies with relatively short tails
  - trouble
* includes air sacs
  - bird's feet
  - breasts
  - cell membranes
  - cells
  - chest cavities
  - chests
  - corpi
  - cytoplasm
  - flight feathers
  - heads
  - lips
  - mouths
  - nuclei
  - plasma membranes
  - quill feathers
  - rib cages
  - second joints
  - sections
  - skulls
  - sterna
  - talons
  - vacuoles
  - wishbones
* keep their nests clean almost all the time.
* live high in the treetops around lowland rainforests.
* live in South America
  - small flocks of five or six birds
* live in the rainforests of Eastern South America
  - tropical rain forest of South America
* live in tropical and subtropical rainforests
* make easier pets for the novice bird enthusiast than parrots
  - excellent pets
  - homes in tropical and montane rainforest habitats
  - their homes in holes in trees
* mate in the spring and usually remain monogamous for the duration of the breeding season
* nest in holes high in trees
  - natural tree cavities
  - the hollows of trees
* occasionally wrestle using their bills.
* often live in small flocks of about a dozen birds or fewer
* preen one another, particularly on the head and nape, with the tip of the bill.
* prefer brightly colored fruits that are easy to locate.
* prefer to remain high in the trees and hop from branch to branch
  - stay high in the treetops
* protect themselves in a number of ways.
* raise a single brood and probably remain mated throughout the year.
  - throughout the year in holes of trees, often old woodpecker holes
* spend most of their life high in the treetops.
* turn heads.
* use their beaks to toss food to each other
  - bills to snip off fruit which they then toss whole into their throats
* usually live in pairs or small flocks
  - use their huge, often colorful bills to eat fruit
* vary in size, depending on the species.
+ Toucan, Beak
  * Toucans are known for their huge beaks, which can grow larger than their bodies. They use their beaks for reaching over and plucking fruit from branches of trees. The bright colors on the beak may help the toucans to recognize each other, and to scare off other birds.