toucan

/ˈtukæn/

/ˈtukɛn/

Other forms: toucans

A toucan is a brilliantly colored bird with a comically large beak. Different species of toucans inhabit the canopies of rainforests in Central and South America.

A toucan's bill is so big that it measures up to a third of the bird's total length! How does the toucan hold up that huge bill? Despite its size, the toucan's bill is surprisingly lightweight, made of a spongy material with many air pockets. Toucans use their bills to reach hanging fruit, snag insects or lizards, attract mates with their vibrant colors, and even to keep themselves cool.

Definitions of toucan

1. noun

   a brilliantly colored fruit-eating bird of tropical America having a very large thin-walled beak
   types:

   toucanet

   small toucan

   type of:

   piciform bird

   any of numerous nonpasserine insectivorous climbing birds usually having strong bills for boring wood