YELLOW-THROATED TOUCAN

Scientific Name: Ramphastos ambiguous swansonii

Range & Habitat: Canopy layers of the dense rain forests of the Amazon basin and in neighboring forested areas of South America.

Size: 12-24 inches, with beaks accounting for almost half the body length

Incubation: 2-4 eggs which are incubated by both parents for 16-18 days

Life Span: Up to 20 years.

Wild Diet: Fruit, large tree-living insects and occasionally nestling birds, eggs and lizards

Zoo Diet: Softbill diet, grapes and fruit

Habits: Toucan wings are short and rounded, and their flight is weak because of their large bodies. Their legs are strong, and the claws are well adapted for grasping branches.Male and female birds look alike. The toucan seizes food with the tip of its bill and then throws its head back to toss the morsel into its mouth. An extremely long, narrow tongue with a bristle-like appendage at the tip aids manipulation of the food. Toucans nest in tree cavities. Young toucans hatch naked and blind and are not fully fledged for more than six weeks.