The keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus) is a species of toucan found from southern Mexico to northern Colombia, including throughout Central America. These birds are also known as the rainbow-billed toucan or the sulfur-breasted toucan for their vibrant, eye-catching coloration.

Keel-billed toucans have primarily black body feathers, with a yellow-green throat, dark red-purple head, and bright, multicolored bills. These distinctive bills can be up to 6 inches (15 cm) in length, making up nearly a third of the toucan’s 20-inch (51 cm) size! Though they may look heavy and oversized, toucans’ bills are in fact made up mostly of keratin, the same light material as a human’s fingernails. In other toucan species, these bills have been found to assist in thermoregulation, keeping the birds’ internal temperatures stable in hot, humid rainforest environments. It’s no surprise that, in Belize, the keel-billed toucan is also nicknamed the “bill bird.”

*Image by* *Lauri Väin* at *Macaw Mountain Bird Park & Nature Reserve*.

Like other toucans, keel-billed toucans live in flocks, some made up of over 20 individual birds. These toucans are very social, playful birds, and even roost together in natural hollows of trees. They primarily eat fruit, but are also known to feed on insects, small reptiles, and the eggs of other birds. Keel-billed toucans are even known to scavenge carrion. They swallow fruit whole, often regurgitating the large pits, and their droppings help to spread seeds throughout their rainforest homes. This combination of herbivore, scavenger, and seed-spreader makes the keel-billed toucan a very important part of rainforest ecology.

Keel-billed toucans are zygodactyl, meaning that they have two toes on each foot pointing backwards and two pointing forwards. This helps them maintain grip as they hop between branches of the rainforest canopy. Toucans are almost never seen on the rainforest floor, as leaving the canopy makes them vulnerable to snakes and predatory mammals. However, keel-billed toucans are not always safe in the trees, where they are still vulnerable to larger birds of prey such as hawks and eagles.

A toucan at the Belize Zoo displaying its distinctive call. Video by Inspire EdVentures.

Toucan courtship behavior, which is seen across several species, involves courting pairs offering fruit to one another. During mating season, keel-billed toucans nest in the hollows of trees, with the female laying clutches of up to four eggs. Both the male and female of the mated pair will incubate the eggs, which hatch after a period of two to three weeks; both parents continue caring for the young until fledging, up to six or seven weeks later. Keel-billed toucans are thought to be monogamous, though it’s unknown if they return to the same mates year after year.

Keel-Billed Toucans in Belize

The keel-billed toucan is the national bird of Belize! These birds are a common sight in Belize, and indeed throughout their range, with an estimated population in 2019 of between 50,000 and nearly 500,000 in the wild. However, in 2021, the IUCN Red List updated the keel-billed toucan’s status from Least Concern to Near Threatened. The keel-billed toucan’s wild population is decreasing, while threats to the species continue to increase.

The largest threat to keel-billed toucans, as for many other rainforest species, is habitat loss. This includes destruction of rainforest for logging and agriculture use. Additionally, keel-billed toucans are frequent victims of hunting for their brightly colored bills and poaching for the pet trade. Though over 60% of Belize remains covered by rainforest, even Belizean keel-billed toucans are threatened by these changes. Organizations like the Belize Zoo seek to combat this decline through conservation efforts and education about the country’s vibrant wildlife.

A keel-billed toucan at the Belize Zoo. Image by Inspire EdVentures.

To learn more about keel-billed toucans and Belize’s wildlife, visit the Belize Zoo with us on a virtual tour!

Kayla is a biologist and science writer specializing in ecology and conservation. She is a graduate from North Carolina State University and project manager for Inspire EdVentures since 2020.