Our Belize Vacation
  • Home Page
  • About Belize
    • Where is Belize?
    • Belize Information >
      • Calendar of Events
    • Traveling to Belize >
      • International Airport
      • Arriving To Belize
      • Leaving Belize
    • Traveling in Belize >
      • Water Taxi Transfers
      • Land Shuttle Transfers
      • Golf Cart Rentals
    • Travel Tips
    • Travel Insurance
    • FAQ
  • WHERE TO STAY
    • Best Accommodations
    • Ambergris Caye >
      • Where To Stay >
        • Belize Budget Suites
      • About San Pedro
    • Caye Caulker >
      • Where To Stay
    • Islands & Atolls >
      • Where To Stay
      • Where To Eat
    • Cayo District >
      • Where To Stay
    • Belize District >
      • Where to Stay
    • Stann Creek District >
      • Where To Stay - Dangriga
      • Where To Stay - Hopkins
    • Orange Walk >
      • Where to Stay
      • Things To Do
    • Corozal District >
      • Where To Stay
    • Toledo District >
      • Where To Stay
      • Where to Eat
  • THINGS TO DO
    • Best of Belize
    • Things To Do >
      • Foods of Belize
    • Unguided Activities
    • Diving
    • Snorkeling
    • Fishing
    • Sailing
    • Adrenaline
    • Jungle
    • Caving
    • Mayan Temples

THE KEEL-BILLED TOUCAN - Of The Belize Rainforest

2/5/2012

4 Comments

 
Picture
TRENT'S WALK IN THE BELIZEAN JUNGLE (Part Fourteen)

In brought to you by "Grand Belizean Estates", the next place to call home.

Picture
TOUCAN SIGHTING
The toucan is a specialty of tropical America.  In Belize, the keel-billed toucan has been designated the national bird in honor of its hilarious beauty.

THE TOUCAN'S BEAK
When you see the capsized canoe beak (in rainbow hues) of the toucan, it is hard to imagine, that the bird could ever manage to roost high up into the air, much less pick up and cut fruit.  This beak is an amazing when it comes to structural engineering.  The horny outer shell is reinforced with a network of inner cellular fibers, providing strength without debilitating weight; it feels like laminated basla wood, but the serrated edges are more mindful of a stainless steel paring knife.  The coloration is beyond belief:  apple green, with an elongated orange triangle laid out along the lip of the upper beak and a streak of powder blue whisping across the lower beak.  The beak is attached to the toucan's head by a black, patent leather strap.  Science speculates that this gaudy display intimidates potential foe, but perhaps it simply bedazzles them, riveting them to the spot while the toucan decides on the best escape route.

THE TOUCAN'S BODY
Feather wise, this black bird wears a perfect bib of lemon yellow and, beneath its tail, a flash of cadmium red.  Greenish skin rings its eyes.  And, after all this and all that, its legs and feet are, unbelievably, an iridescent blue.  All things considered, the keel-billed toucan is an amazing bird!

THE TOUCAN'S DIET
The toucan generally feeds on the fruits of larger forest trees.  With its beak, it rips off a chunk from the fleshly portion; it juggles the morsel with the tip of its bill until it is positioned just so and then, with a toss of its head, it flips the food into the air and catches it somewhere en route to its throat.  It drinks water in a similar fashion, dipping its bill below the surface, then lifting it high, making of it a gutter to conduct the liquid down.  Toucans also eat insects, lizards and snakes, and have been known to help themselves to oropendola eggs.

THE TOUCAN'S HABITAT
This bird prefers large trees in open areas.  It nests in holes such as those made by woodpeckers and which it will enlarge by removing dead wood - but only enough so that it can fit comfortably when folded up, its bill down its back and its tail hinged forward.  Two to four white eggs are laid.  The parents take turns with the incubating as well as with the task of filing the baby bills.  The nesting stage is prolonged, lasting up to nine weeks.

These social birds may flock, in groups of six to eight, and often hold forth in a monotonous creaking croak.  At the Belize Zoo, there is a Toucan named Rambo (originally Rainbow).  If you catch him in the right mood, he will "purr" for you while you scratch his head. 

So next time you're in Belize, stop by the Belize Zoo and say hello to Rambo for me.

4 Comments
    Picture
    Trenton Turley
    Hi, my name is Trenton S. Turley.  I've been living in Belize now for 11 years.  Hope you enjoy reading my many blog posts.  I write about things, that are passionate to me. 
    SNAKES OF BELIZE!
    Check out, my my current blog series on Snakes of Belize.

    Categories

    All
    Activities
    Adventure
    Agouti Paca
    Aligators
    American Sign Language
    Animals
    Barracuda
    Bat Fish
    Bats
    Belize
    Berried
    Big
    Birds
    Cats
    Central America
    Cockscomb Jaguar Sanctuary
    Comical Coatimundi
    Coral Snake
    Crocodiles
    Deaf
    Exciting
    Experience
    Family
    Female
    Fer-de-Lance
    Fishing
    Friends
    Frigatebirds
    Fun
    Gibnut
    Green Iguanas
    Hermit Crabs
    Honey Bear
    Hummingbirds
    Incubation
    Jabiru Stork
    Jaguars
    Kayaks
    Keeled Billed Toucan
    Kids
    Kinkajou
    Lion Fish
    Lobsters
    Mammals
    Morelet\
    Needlefish
    Night Walker
    Nocturnal
    Ocean
    Octopus
    Peccary
    Pelicans
    Rain Forest
    Reptiles
    Snakes
    Snorkeling
    Sonar
    Soubty
    Spider Monkey
    Star Fish
    Tapirs
    Travel
    Tropical
    Vacation
    Water
    Weekend
    West Indian Manatee
    Zoo

    Archives

    April 2016
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011

    RSS Feed

Where To Stay
Ambergris
Caye Caulker
Islands - Atolls
Placencia
Cayo
Belize City
Dangriga
Hopkins
Orange Walk
Corozal
Toledo

Our Belize Vacation
Ambergris Caye, Coconut Drive
San Pedro, Belize


What To Do
Scuba Diving
Snorkeling
Reef Fishing
Sailing in Belize
Jungles & Parks
Caving Systems
Maya Temples
Spa Treatments

          All Rights Reserved.  Copyright @ 2021
  • Home Page
  • About Belize
    • Where is Belize?
    • Belize Information >
      • Calendar of Events
    • Traveling to Belize >
      • International Airport
      • Arriving To Belize
      • Leaving Belize
    • Traveling in Belize >
      • Water Taxi Transfers
      • Land Shuttle Transfers
      • Golf Cart Rentals
    • Travel Tips
    • Travel Insurance
    • FAQ
  • WHERE TO STAY
    • Best Accommodations
    • Ambergris Caye >
      • Where To Stay >
        • Belize Budget Suites
      • About San Pedro
    • Caye Caulker >
      • Where To Stay
    • Islands & Atolls >
      • Where To Stay
      • Where To Eat
    • Cayo District >
      • Where To Stay
    • Belize District >
      • Where to Stay
    • Stann Creek District >
      • Where To Stay - Dangriga
      • Where To Stay - Hopkins
    • Orange Walk >
      • Where to Stay
      • Things To Do
    • Corozal District >
      • Where To Stay
    • Toledo District >
      • Where To Stay
      • Where to Eat
  • THINGS TO DO
    • Best of Belize
    • Things To Do >
      • Foods of Belize
    • Unguided Activities
    • Diving
    • Snorkeling
    • Fishing
    • Sailing
    • Adrenaline
    • Jungle
    • Caving
    • Mayan Temples