toucan

American  

[too-kan, -kahn, too-kahn] / ˈtu kæn, -kɑn, tuˈkɑn /

noun

• toucans
  plural

1. any of several usually brightly colored, fruit-eating birds of the family Ramphastidae, of tropical America, having a very large bill.

2. Astronomy. Toucan, the constellation Tucana.

---

toucan British  

/ ˈtuːkən /

noun

1. any tropical American arboreal fruit-eating bird of the family Ramphastidae, having a large brightly coloured bill with serrated edges and a bright plumage

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• toucans
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of toucan

First recorded in 1550–60; from French, from Portuguese tucano, from Tupi tucan (imitative of its cry)

---

Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

toucan toucans

As we talk, on occasion the screeching call of a toucan pierces the quiet, and miles above, the same giant black birds hover menacingly in groups, surveying everything below.

From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026

Last March, officers found 21 parrots and a keel-billed toucan while searching a sedan at the U.S.-Mexico border crossing in Tecate, according to CBP.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2025

In contrast, larger birds such as the Toco toucan or the Curl-crested jay disperse the seeds of trees with a higher carbon storage potential.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 15, 2024

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a toucan?

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 7, 2021

Maybe a stray dog should be wandering by, or a toucan.

From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon

She is wearing gold drop earrings and a turquoise dress made from fabric featuring a rainforest of monkeys, toucans and lemurs.

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2025

Primates like the spider monkeys are among the most frequent arrivals, but the center also receives cat species such as ocelots and jaguarundi, and birds including toucans and owls.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 29, 2022

As the researchers sequentially removed species from most to least threatened, toucans, hornbills, hummingbirds, and other distinctive species dropped out; similar birds—think finches and starlings—remained.

From Science Magazine ● Jul. 21, 2022

Most people associate the Amazon region with showy macaws and toucans, but to an ornithologist, the diverse antbirds are among its main draws.

From New York Times ● Aug. 31, 2021

The dense tropical trees along the river’s edge towered overhead, providing shade along the banks, while big-beaked toucans called out with their harsh sounds and flocks of parakeets flashed their green, blue, and red feathers.

From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---