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Toco Toucan — printable fact sheet
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Toco Toucan
Ramphastos toco
The toco toucan has the largest bill relative to body size of any bird, and for a long time nobody could explain why. It is not a weapon, and it is not primarily a feeding tool: the bill is a thermal radiator. It is threaded with a dense network of blood vessels, and the bird sh…
Did you know?
- Toco Toucans regulate their body temperature by adjusting blood flow to their enormous bills, making their beaks serve as natural thermal radiators.
- The toucan's outsized bill is mainly a heat radiator — it dumps body heat by adjusting blood flow through it. Despite its size the bill is very light: a keratin shell over a honeycomb of bony struts. Toucans tuck the bill under a wing to sleep, conserving warmth. They are poor fliers, hopping and gliding through the canopy rather than flying far.
What I learned
Draw the toco toucan
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