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

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

Voice work is one of the only places where it really doesn’t matter what you look like, meaning that you can suddenly become a toucan or a princess or a monster.

From New York Times ● Nov. 25, 2021

Also, a confiscated keel-billed toucan begins a new life at the zoo and the gorillas get a new form of entertainment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2021

Imagine a fifty-pound pigeon with the feet of a turkey, the beak of a toucan, and the prehistoric charm of a rhinoceros.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

In the second case, prosecutors say a man tried to smuggle 14 keel-billed toucans, which he had concealed inside the dashboard of his Volkswagen Passat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026

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

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

It’s easy to find a spot where you’re the only two people on a beautiful beach full of wildlife such as toucans and sloths.

From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2022

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!

---