Toco toucan

Ramphastos toco · The toco toucan is the largest toucan, a black bird with a huge yellow-orange beak, living in South America from the Guianas south to northern Argentina and Uruguay.

Also called Common toucan, Giant toucan.

Taxonomy

Where it lives

Savannas and open woodland of Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and northern Argentina.

Fun facts

• The toco toucan's huge beak looks heavy, but it is relatively light because the inside is largely hollow.
• The toco toucan's beak works like a radiator, shedding body heat much like an elephant's ears do.
• Toco toucans can fly across bodies of water more than 5 km wide, which many other toucans do not do.
• Toco toucans sometimes make sounds without using their voice, by hitting their bill against a branch.

Play it

The Toco toucan was the creature in Birder on November 6, 2026. Can you identify tomorrow's from its photos? Every day brings a new creature to place from kingdom to genus, map and name.

Play today's creature or replay a past daily

Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).