Red-breasted Toucan
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| Red-breasted Toucan | ||||||||||||||
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 Parque das Aves, Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil
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| Ramphastos dicolorus Linnaeus, 1766 |
The Red-breasted Toucan or Green-billed Toucan (Ramphastos dicolorus) is found throughout central and southern Brazil and south into northern Argentina and is one of the more commonly seen species.
It is one of the smaller species of large black toucans, weighing approximately 350 grams. Its beak is one of the shortest of the large toucans at only four inches in length. The Red-breasted Toucan derives its name from the large area of red feathers, which are really on the abdomen. Its breast is actually orange, with yellow at the sides. The beak is mostly green and therefore sometimes referred to as The Green-billed Toucan.
Also when pulled from the nest hand fed as babies they can eventually make pets. They do however require spacious cages to hop back and forth from because of their active nature, and require toys in their cage to prevent boredom. Their high fruit diet and sensitivity to hemochromatosis (iron storage disease) make them difficult for the novice keeper to maintain. Also they fling their fruit so the potential owner should be prepared to clean up dried fruit. They are expensive birds to maintain.
[edit] External links
- Extensive Gallery on Toucans
- List of Toucans
- Toucan videos on the Internet Bird Collection
