toucan

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Images & Videos

Channel-billed toucan

Toco toucan (Ramphastos toco).

An illustration of an emerald toucanet (Aulacorhynchus prasinus) perched on a mossy branch, showing its bright green body, yellow and black beak, and a tail with red and black markings.

Close-up of a toucan with a large yellow and black bill holding a piece of fruit or nut in its beak, Amazon, Brazil.

Gray-breasted mountain toucan (Andigena hypoglauca).

A toucan (Ramphastos toco) with a large, colorful beak and bright yellow throat perches among green leaves in a Colombian rainforest.

Keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus); the bill is probably used for species recognition.

Glimpse the Amazon Rainforest's diverse wildlife, from anacondas and sloths to macaws and capybaras

At a Glance

default image

Channel-billed toucan — Channel-billed toucan Channel-billed toucan (Ramphastos vitellinus).

toucan

bird family

Also known as: Ramphastidae, tucano

Written and fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 25, 2026 •History

toucan, (family Ramphastidae), the common name given to numerous species of tropical American forest birds known for their large and strikingly coloured bills. The term toucan—derived from tucano, a native Brazilian term for the bird—is used in the common name of about 15 species (Ramphastos and Andigena), and the aracaris and toucanets are very similar smaller birds of the same family that are also considered toucans, bringing the total number of species to about 35....

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