Bird
The toucan
Ramphastos toco
The toco toucan, Ramphastos toco, is a bird characterised by its enormous curved beak which is very long, very wide, and generally orange-red with greenish edges.
Distinctive features
Its 20-centimetre long beak accounts for a third of its size. It is undoubtedly rather cumbersome, but its bony structure has holes in it, making the beak very light and strong.
Anecdote
Unlike other birds, which bathe at ground level, toucans do so in the trees. They use puddles of rainwater trapped in the hollows of tall trunks.
