The Magnificent Toucan – Jewel of the Forest Canopy
By Dmitri Allicock
One of the images conjured up about the rainforest of Guyana is best exemplified by the colorful bill of the Toucan {Ramphastidae} and its Jurassic calls of a lost world. Guyana and South America are homes to a diverse range of birds which can be partly attributed to the multitude of fruits which provide sustenance for the large number of fruit eating birds including the toucans. These winged wonders carry a large variety of color combination and adorn the canopy of the rainforest.
The term Toucan derived from Tucano, a native Brazilian term for the bird and Guyana is home to 9 of the 40 species distributed from Mexico to Paraguay, including the smaller Aracaris and Toucanets. The name Toucan evokes very different images of lush rain forests and large birds with brightly colored bills.
