The Toco Toucan: A Feathered Ambassador of the Amazon Rainforest

Toco Toucan

Species Overview

Also Known As: common toucan, giant toucan

Scientific Name: Ramphastos toco

Adult Size: 2 Feet

Life Expectancy: 18-20 years

Is The Toco Toucan a good pet?

PROS
  • Social and affectionate
  • Fun loving
  • Intelligent
  • Beautiful Colors
  • They aren’t as destructive as a parrot
  • They are quieter then parrots
CONS
  • Demand a lot of attention
  • They require a lot of room to move around and don’t like to sit still

General Information

The most common type of toucan is the Toco Toucan. This is the one most likely to be found in a pet shop to be sold as a pet. Toucans are by no means common in the United States, but if you see one, it will likely be this one. If one is to choose a pet bird, they aren’t likely to choose a toucan.

 

They are available as pets, though, and are wonderful little birds for the right bird owner. The bill is orange and yellow with an oblong black spot on the tip and a black base. The eyes are dark brown with a ring of skin around each eye that is very distinctly blue. Orange surrounds the blue skin around the eye. The throat and upper chest are a clean white.

 

The feathers on the rest of the body are black with a shiny bluish sheen in the sunlight. The under part of the tail is a deep red. The bill is the most overwhelming feature, being large and colorful. It can measure as long as 9 inches. The tongue inside is also long and is very thin and flat. The beak is thought to be warning to predators to stay away. Sort of like a giant, bright “stay away” sign. It also may serve as an aid for finding attractive mates. It is obvious that the beak helps the bird in its eating habits as the birds use it to peel their fruit or gather hard to reach food items. Though it may look heavy and cumbersome, it is almost completely hollow so it is lightweight and may not be as dreadful to lug around as it looks. The beak may look enormous, but the actual bird is not that large.

 

They weigh anywhere between the range of 1 to 2 pounds and are a length of about 2 feet. They are found in Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. They aren’t typically forest dwelling birds, so you would normally find them hanging out in semi-open areas of woodlands and savanna. They are often found at the forests edge.

 

They aren’t the best flyers, so it is cute to see them do a lot of hopping from branch to branch to get around. This bird is not on any endangered lists. The Toco Toucan eats fruits, insects, small animals, and eggs. They have a lifespan of about 20 years in the wild and 18 years in captivity.

 

They are prone to “iron storage disease” or hemochromatosis in captivity. This disease makes the toucan unhappy and can lead to feather picking and eventually death. What happens is the bird takes on too much iron in their diet when in captivity due to the high-iron foods fed to birds normally kept in captivity. In the wild, Toco Toucans eat a diet almost entirely consisting of fruits that are low in iron.

 

Their bodies are designed to be extra efficient at capturing and storing iron from food, so when too much comes into their bodies, they soak it up and store it. Too much iron is a very bad thing for these birds. Tocos are very noisy. Their vocalizations consist of deep croaking noises, rattling-sounding calls, and bill clicking or clacking noises.

 

They are not too loud to keep as pets, of course! They make wonderful pets and can be quite friendly. They can be hand-tamed just like other large birds and are even capable of learning tricks. They cannot, however, learn to speak human words or imitate speech like many types of parrot.

What food do they eat?

The Toco Toucan eats fruits, insects, small animals, and eggs. Toucans need a low iron diet which can be found from different retailers, this and various chopped fruit that have little to no vitamin C in them. It is never a bad idea to feed a large variety of fruits to your toucan, but there is no evidence that 1–5 different types of fruit per day are inadequate. In fact, some wild toco toucans were found to predominately forage from only 1–6 different fleshy fruits depending on the season. Most owners will choose to feed a base diet of about 3 different fruits, which are generally papaya, blueberries, and some type of melon, but owners can feed whatever is available in their area, as long as it is not citrus, which leads to the uptake of more iron in the liver which can be fatal for your Toco Toucan.

Price

Pricing is around $10,000 from breeders. Its not a cheap bird compared to their other bird counterparts but will make an amazing companion if you decide to own one.

 

If you want to choose a breeder, make sure that the breeder is reputable by asking them how long they’ve been breeding and working with Toucans. Ask for a tour, but don’t be alarmed if you are unable to tour the facilities in which they keep the birds. Many reputable breeders opt to work under closed aviaries, which prevents diseases from infecting the flock.

How big is the Toco Toucan?

They weigh anywhere between the range of 1 to 2 pounds and are a length of about 2 feet.

Temperament

Toco Toucans are friendly, cuddly, playful, intelligent and curious about their surroundings. They like to play with toys and with their owners and will give you hours of wonderful companionship. They will sit on your shoulder, cuddle in your lap making them a very pleasant bird to welcome into your household.

Common Diseases

They are prone to “iron storage disease” or hemochromatosis in captivity. This disease makes the toucan unhappy and can lead to feather picking and eventually death. What happens is the bird takes on too much iron in their diet when in captivity due to the high-iron foods fed to birds normally kept in captivity. In the wild, Toco Toucans eat a diet almost entirely consisting of fruits that are low in iron.


– Bacterial infections

– Iron storage disease

– Intestinal parasites

– Gout

Facts about the Toco Toucan

Play Video about Toco Toucan

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