1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain 2 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: Stuff Lauren Boulba bom Here Two Cans, Sam, that bird 3 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: with the horn shaped, rainbow striped bill on the front 4 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:16,520 Speaker 1: of the Fruit Loops cereal box, has made the two 5 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 1: can recognizable to generations of people who have never been 6 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:24,240 Speaker 1: anywhere near the Neo Tropics, and even before Sam began 7 00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:28,720 Speaker 1: following his nose, the two cans undeniable graphic appeal led 8 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: to its dramatic profile gracing advertisements decades beforehand. Two cans 9 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:37,159 Speaker 1: have been used to promote everything from Guinness beer in 10 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:40,199 Speaker 1: the nineteen thirties to the Brazilian Social Democracy Party in 11 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: the nineteen eighties. But two cans in actuality don't have 12 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:48,479 Speaker 1: anything to do with beer, democracy or cereal, although they 13 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:53,240 Speaker 1: definitely concern themselves with fruit. Two cans are a group 14 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,920 Speaker 1: of social birds native to Central and South America. They 15 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 1: spend their days doing what any good fruit givore that is, 16 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:04,080 Speaker 1: fruit eater does, dispersing the seeds of the trees whose 17 00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 1: fruits they eat. The smallest two can species, the lettered 18 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:10,960 Speaker 1: are Sorry, is only about eleven inches that's twenty eight 19 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:14,560 Speaker 1: centimeters tall, and weighs only about four and a half ounces. 20 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:17,679 Speaker 1: That's around a hundred and thirty grams. But the largest, 21 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: the Toco two can, is nearly three times is tall 22 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: and six times is heavy. What all two can species, 23 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:27,319 Speaker 1: and there are over forty of them, have in common 24 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:31,399 Speaker 1: is their preference for their home turf. Two cans don't migrate, 25 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:34,840 Speaker 1: their habit of making nests in the hollow cavities of trees, 26 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:41,039 Speaker 1: and of course they're long, often colorful bills. For the article, 27 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:43,360 Speaker 1: this episode is based on How Stuff Work. Spoke by 28 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:46,800 Speaker 1: email with Thomas Schulenberg, who studies neotropical birds at the 29 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. He said, two cans use their 30 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 1: bills to do all the things that any bird would do, 31 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:57,000 Speaker 1: but perhaps the most important function is to grab fruit, 32 00:01:57,600 --> 00:01:59,200 Speaker 1: and much of the fruit that they eat can be 33 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 1: swallowed in a gold gulp. The bird grabs something with 34 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: the tip of the bill, then tosses it towards the 35 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 1: back of the throat and swallows. Two cans also capture 36 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:09,800 Speaker 1: and eat small vertebrates when they find them, mostly small 37 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:13,080 Speaker 1: lizards and frogs, and the eggs and nestlings of smaller birds. 38 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 1: Aside from feeding, two cans use the bill to preen 39 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:20,680 Speaker 1: the plumage just like any other bird. Of course, a 40 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: bird doesn't need a bill is splendid as the two 41 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:27,360 Speaker 1: cans to eat fruit. Many other avian frugivores have substantially 42 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 1: smaller bills, so it must be that the bill of 43 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:33,360 Speaker 1: the two can serves some other rolls aside from showing down. 44 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:36,639 Speaker 1: In many two can species, the bill and head are 45 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:41,840 Speaker 1: used in displays communications with their own kind. Schulenberg said 46 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:45,119 Speaker 1: the larger species of two cans the genus run fastest. 47 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:48,320 Speaker 1: The model for the fruit loop's icon, often perch on 48 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:51,520 Speaker 1: exposed sites in the canopy and call while throwing the 49 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:54,520 Speaker 1: head back and swinging it from side to side. And 50 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:57,520 Speaker 1: in all species, the bill of the male is significantly 51 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:00,800 Speaker 1: longer than the bill of the female, So resumably the 52 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:03,200 Speaker 1: size of the two can bill owes as much or 53 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 1: more to sexual selection as it does to any functional requirement. 54 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:11,360 Speaker 1: Two cans bills might also be useful for shedding excess heat. 55 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:14,080 Speaker 1: A study published in the July two thousand nine issue 56 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:17,080 Speaker 1: of Science magazine suggested that given the surface area of 57 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: the bill, which accounts for between thirty and fifty percent 58 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:22,919 Speaker 1: of the bird's entire body, a two cans beak receives 59 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 1: a lot of blood, which can serve as a good 60 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:30,079 Speaker 1: tool for thermal exchange. Schulenberg added there's a growing awareness 61 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:32,520 Speaker 1: now that the bill serves a similar function even in 62 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:38,119 Speaker 1: species with much smaller bills, such as sparrows. Since two 63 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:41,480 Speaker 1: cans don't migrate, you won't find two can species anywhere 64 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 1: other than their native range, unless, of course, they were 65 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:48,040 Speaker 1: taken there through the exotic pet trade. However, two cans 66 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:50,560 Speaker 1: bear a striking resemblance to a type of bird found 67 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 1: in subtropical Africa and Asia called a hornbill. Both are 68 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 1: large birds with large, long, colorful bills, and superficially very similar, 69 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 1: but they're not really to one another at all. Schullenberg said. 70 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 1: The two can and hornbill branches of the bird world 71 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: diverged from each other around fifty to fifty five million 72 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: years ago, so they've each been going their own way 73 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:14,520 Speaker 1: for a long long time. Any similarities between them are 74 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:18,480 Speaker 1: the result of convergent evolution, the independent acquisition of similar 75 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:21,960 Speaker 1: traits or behaviors. Although you'd have to be in the 76 00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:23,960 Speaker 1: neo tropics to see a two can in the wild, 77 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:27,479 Speaker 1: some people do keep them as pets. They're not legal 78 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 1: in every country or even in every US state, but 79 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 1: can be kept in some places with a special license 80 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: or zoological certificate. Two cans are active and time consuming pets, 81 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: expensive due to their need for a constant supply of 82 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:43,159 Speaker 1: fresh fruit, and are long lived. A two can in 83 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:47,160 Speaker 1: captivity lives in average for around twenty to twenty five years. Also, 84 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:50,479 Speaker 1: they are wild animals that haven't had generations to get 85 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:53,880 Speaker 1: used to cohabiting with humans. Up toucan whose hormones are 86 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:56,279 Speaker 1: telling him to perform a raucous mating display in your 87 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 1: kitchen just might be part of what you have to 88 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 1: get used to and will be much more challenging and 89 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 1: difficult to train away than, for example, a dog that 90 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:12,000 Speaker 1: gets up too early on a Saturday morning. Today's episode 91 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:14,280 Speaker 1: is based on the article the toucan is Far more 92 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:16,799 Speaker 1: than the Fruit Loop's mascot on how stuff Works dot com, 93 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:19,600 Speaker 1: written by Jesselyn Shields. Brain Stuff is production of I 94 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:22,120 Speaker 1: Heart Radio in partnership with hostuffwork dot Com, and it's 95 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:25,359 Speaker 1: produced by Tyler Klang. For more podcasts my heart Radio, 96 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 97 00:05:28,279 --> 00:05:29,480 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.