# Keel-billed Toucan

*Ramphastos sulfuratus*

The keel-billed toucan's massive bill is actually a highly efficient thermal radiator, used to regulate body temperature by adjusting blood flow.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Piciformes › Ramphastidae › Ramphastos
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** decreasing
- **Biome:** forest
- **Habitat:** Tropical and subtropical rainforests, forest edges, and secondary growth woodlands.
- **Diet:** Primarily frugivorous (fruit), supplemented by insects, small lizards, tree frogs, and occasionally bird eggs.
- **Range:** Southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela
- **Size:** 42 to 55 cm (17 to 22 inches) in length, including the bill.
- **Lifespan:** 15-20 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat loss due to deforestation, fragmentation, and the illegal pet trade.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless and shy. Maintain a respectful distance and use binoculars for viewing. They typically stay high in the canopy; if you find one on the ground, it may be injured and requires a professional wildlife rehabilitator.

## About

The keel-billed toucan ( Ramphastos sulfuratus ), also known as sulfur-breasted toucan or rainbow-billed toucan , is a colorful Latin American member of the toucan family. It is the national bird of Belize.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/23d8bca1-84a2-4684-a7ef-9017ab571997
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/18796
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramphastos sulfuratus
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/113228/medium.jpg (Brian Gratwicke, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.