Toco toucan

The toco toucan (Ramphastos toco), also known as the common toucan or toucan, is the largest and probably the best known species in the toucan family. It is found in semi-open habitats throughout a large part of central and eastern South America. It is a common attraction in zoos.

Description

The toco toucan has a striking plumage with a mainly black body, a white throat, chest and uppertail-coverts, and red undertail-coverts. What appears to be a blue iris is actually thin blue skin around the eye. This blue skin is surrounded by another ring of bare, orange skin. The most noticeable feature, however, is its huge bill, which measures from 15.8 to 23 cm (6.2 to 9.1 in) in length, which is yellow-orange, tending to deeper reddish-orange on its lower sections and culmen, and with a black base and large spot on the tip. It looks heavy, but as in other toucans it is relatively light because the inside largely is hollow. The tongue is nearly as long as the bill and very flat. This species is the largest toucan and the largest representative of the order Piciformes. The total length of the species is 55–65 cm (22–26 in). Body weight in these birds can vary from 500 to 876 g (1.102 to 1.931 lb), with males averaging 723 g (1.594 lb) against the smaller female, which averages 576 g (1.270 lb). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 22 to 26 cm (8.7 to 10.2 in), the tail is 14.1 to 17.9 cm (5.6 to 7.0 in) and the tarsus is 4.8 to 6.5 cm (1.9 to 2.6 in). Other than the size difference, there is no external differences between the sexes. Juveniles are duller and shorter-billed than adults. Its voice consists of a deep, coarse croaking, often repeated every few seconds. It also has a rattling call and will bill-clack.

Toco

Toco is the most northeasterly village on the island of Trinidad in the County of Saint David at the point where the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet. Tobago lies only some 35 kilometers to the northeast which renders Toco the closest point in Trinidad to the sister island. The name Toco was ascribed to the area by its early Amerindian inhabitants. The meaning of the name is uncertain, yet its historical significance and value to the country is well noted.

Punta Galera (now Galera Point) is one of the sights of Toco. Galera is a slight corruption of the word "galea", the name originally given to the southeastern point, Galeota Point, by Christopher Columbus. The name was accidentally given to this point as well. The name stuck and it remains a popular tourist destination. The Galera Point Lighthouse in Toco was built in 1897 and today is surrounded by a park and picnic area.

History

Not much activity took place in Toco after the Spanish colonized Trinidad in 1531 until 1631, when Sir Henry Colt and English forces entered the territory without the knowledge of the Spanish. In 1637, the British were expelled by the Dutch, who had formed an alliance with the Amerindians in the area and were, not too long after, expelled by the Spanish.