Toco Toucan

The toco toucan is the largest species of toucan, native to woodland, savanna and forest edges across a broad swath of South America east of the Andes, instantly recognizable for its enormous orange bill, which can measure up to nearly twenty centimetres, roughly a third of the bird's total length. Despite its size, the bill is lightweight, made of a keratin shell over a honeycomb-like bone structure, and it is thought to serve multiple purposes, including reaching fruit at the ends of thin branches, intimidating rivals and predators, and regulating body temperature by releasing heat through its many blood vessels. Toco toucans feed mainly on fruit but will also eat insects, eggs and small vertebrates, and they nest in tree cavities, often taking over holes originally excavated by woodpeckers. The species remains widespread and common across its range and has become one of the most recognizable birds of South America, frequently used as a symbol in advertising and popular culture.