Big bills, and murder most foul

The Keel-billed Toucan, Ramphastos sulfuratus, is a bill with a bird attached.

Because of habitat loss and the pet trade, it is Near Threatened.

They are mostly seen in pairs:

often playing with each other (the right-hand one has gently grasped the other one with its bill) :

while keeping a close eye on us 40 feet below:

That huge bill is in fact slender when seen from below:

The main function of this unwieldy beak seems to be heat regulation, by adjusting the blood flow to vessels in the beak. Seki et al (2006) studied toucan beaks in detail. They have an external keratin shell, with a cellular core, and a hollow centre, and weigh only about 4% of the bird’s weight. This is a cross-section.

The related Toco Toucan photographed here in Brazil shows how dexterous the beak can be:

and how the food is swallowed, just like a teenager with a peanut:

We also saw Yellow-Throated Toucans, or Chestnut-Mandibled Toucans, Ramphastos ambiguus,

The beak doesn’t open where you might expect from its coloration!

Although they mostly eat fruit, they are known to be major predators of birds’ nests, for the eggs and young. But we watched one commit murder most foul. A pair of Fork-Tailed Flycatchers were nesting nearby, and harassing the circling threatening toucans.

Suddenly a toucan made a grab, and caught one of the adult birds. It settled in a nearby bush, and chomped down. Here it has just swallowed the final gulp:

Our guide Johan Fernandez videoed the toucan tearing its prey into bite-sized pieces through his scope (experience has told me that sometimes these iPhone videos don’t play back reliably: good luck):

Neither Birds of the World, nor Birdlife.org, report these toucans eating adult birds, so we were lucky and fascinated to see this. The bird was not so lucky.