Nature ReachA fruit-eater with a striking bill
Follow the toucan through the treetops
Ramphastos ambiguus
A toucan reaches towards a fruit with its large bill. After the meal, some of the fruit’s seeds can travel with the bird to another part of the forest.
Listen in Nature Reach
These are the same real voice recordings children hear in the app.
Forest canopies in the western Amazon
The app’s toucan represents the yellow-throated toucan, Ramphastos ambiguus, in its black-mandibled form. Its range reaches Peru; this page places it in the western Amazon, without suggesting that it occurs throughout the entire Amazon basin.
Eating fruit and moving seeds
Toucans live in the canopy and use their large bills to pick and eat fruit. After eating fruit, they spread seeds to other parts of the forest.
Three things to notice
- The yellow-throated toucan has a yellow face and throat, with a bill that is yellow above and dark below.
- A toucan’s large bill is lighter than it looks and helps the bird reach fruit on branches.
- Fruit makes up most of this toucan’s diet, but it also eats insects and some small animals.
Fruit to eat and tree hollows for nests
Feeding on fruiting trees
Canopy trees provide fruit for toucans. By carrying seeds away after feeding, the birds help disperse the trees’ seeds through the forest.
Nesting in tree hollows
Yellow-throated toucans nest in hollows formed as wood decays. These natural cavities provide nesting places inside trees.
Find the toucan in Nature Reach
Open the free rainforest map and look for the toucan in the canopy. Tap to hear its name and introduction, then explore the treetops where it finds fruit.
Explore the rainforest
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Bradypus spp.
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Meet this speciesSources
- Yellow-throated toucan identification, Cornell Lab of Ornithology eBird
- Ramphastos ambiguus habitat, diet and nesting, Animal Diversity Web
Reviewed by Nature Reach on 17/10/2026.