May 21, 2025
Caripe, Monagas, Venezuela
NR Foto
Classified as vulnerable, The Channel-billed Toucan or Ramphastos vitellinus, rarely fly more than 100 meters at a time and prefer to bounce from branch to branch. They are a diurnal species and forage for fruits in the canopies of humid low-lying forests.
Infrared thermography studies have shown that a toucan's large bill — which makes up 30 to 50 percent of its surface area — also functions as an effective thermostat. A toucan can control the amount of blood flow to its bill to increase or decrease the amount of heat it loses – a "thermal window" that rivals an elephant's ears in temperature-regulating efficiency.
