Toucans should be kept in large, well-planted aviaries for exhibition purposes. Usually the beaks are extremely colourful, featuring amazing combinations of streaks, patches or dots, such as are found in keel-billed, channel-billed, Swainson’s and spot-billed toucanettes, among others. Although the beaks are large, they are very light and strong due to their internal support matrix. The primary physical characteristic that makes the members of this family so distinctive is their incredible beak.
Red patches under the tail in the vent area are also common to several species, as well as an area of blue surrounding the eyes. The larger species are basically black in colour, with white, yellow or red breasts, some with transverse colour bands.
Toucans are intelligent and interesting birds whose unusual beak shape, beautiful colours and continual activity make them a highly desirable species for zoological institutions. Generally they are seen in small family groups of two to five individuals ( Fig. Their natural habitat is rainforests, where they fly from tree to tree in their quest for food. The family Ramphastidae, which includes 33 species of toucans, toucanettes and aracaris, is native to an area that extends from southern Mexico through Central and South America to northern Argentina. Lorenzo Crosta, Linda Timossi, in Handbook of Avian Medicine (Second Edition), 2009 Toucans The most common species found in captivity are the toco toucan ( Ramphastos toco) and the sulphur-breasted (also commonly called the keel bill toucan or rainbow bill toucan) ( Ramphastos sulfuratus) ( Fig. Though toucans are unable to talk, these energetic birds are able to vocalize, and produce a variety of interesting sounds. Toucans that are hand-fed make the best pets/companion birds. While there are several large collections of ramphastids in the world, and a few birds are maintained as pets, the relative numbers are quite small when compared to captive psittacine species. Toucans are not commonly kept as aviary or pet birds. The prominent bill is thought to function in species recognition, in procuring food items that might otherwise be beyond their reach, and possibly in courtship rituals. Bills vary in colour from black to bright or multicoloured, and are actually quite lightweight, being composed of a thick outer covering of keratin with an intricate inner network of trabeculae. The most prominent and distinguishing feature of the family Ramphastidae is the presence of the large protruding bill. Most species inhabit lowland rain forests, although some of the species can be found in mountainous regions. Toucans as a group are considered tropical birds, encompassing a range that extends from southern Mexico to Bolivia and northern Argentina.
An additional division into three general categories, the larger toucans, the smaller toucanettes and the small, slender aracaris, is also useful for descriptive purposes. These colourful and interesting birds are further subdivided into six different genera, encompassing approximately 42 species. Toucans are members of the family of birds Ramphastidae, which is part of the order Piciformes. Worell, in Handbook of Avian Medicine (Second Edition), 2009 Introduction
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