If you saw a toucan's beak, you'd probably think it must be heavy. It isn't. The beak is made of a sponge-like material called keratin (the same stuff your fingernails are made of) with lots of tiny air pockets inside. It looks huge but barely weighs anything at all.
Scientists used to wonder why toucans have such big beaks. We now think it works a bit like a radiator. When the toucan is hot, blood flows into the beak and lets the heat escape into the air. When it's cool, blood flows away and the toucan saves warmth. It is basically built-in air conditioning.
Toucans eat mostly fruit, picking it from branches with the very tip of their beak and then tossing it up into the air to swallow. They also eat insects, lizards, and sometimes eggs. The long beak helps them reach food on thin branches that would never hold their weight.
There are over 40 different kinds of toucan, and they live across Central and South America. They prefer the warm forests near the equator, like the Amazon. Most of them are noisy birds - they call to each other in croaks, yelps and clicks across the treetops.

