I would like to present a bird that I met and I heard during my trip

to Ecuador in August 2008.
I loved it and I brought it in my luggage ... it was only wood handmade by the Indians of Amazonia !

The TOUCAN is a superb bird of Central America and South America. Its plumage is colorful and it has a huge bright yellow beak. This large beak is not as heavy as it looks, because it is hollow ! We have not yet explained the exact role of its beak, but it is generally believed that it serves as means of intimidation during courtship display between males.


The TOUCAN catchs its food with the tip of the beak, projecting it into the air by putting the head back and then snaps it.


It has a long thin tongue that ends in a sort of brush which it handles food. This is an animal very noisy and, with macaws, this is one of the main leaders of the cacophony of the rainforest !


It feeds on berries, seeds, insects, spiders, fruit (it likes peppers very much).


It lives in a group of a dozen individuals. During the courtship display, the male and the female give or throw the berries with their beaks. The couple united for many years. Once a year, the female lays two to four white eggs in a hole in a tree.

Men living in the forest like the TOUCAN very much. This bird can easily tame like a parrot and his feathers are the most beautiful effect in ornaments and headdresses.

Unfortunately, it is threatened by deforestation which destroys their habitat.

like so many other animals ... and many others around the world !!!