WEBVTT - How Do Toucans Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff Lauren Boulba bom Here Two Cans, Sam, that bird

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<v Speaker 1>with the horn shaped, rainbow striped bill on the front

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<v Speaker 1>of the Fruit Loops cereal box, has made the two

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<v Speaker 1>can recognizable to generations of people who have never been

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<v Speaker 1>anywhere near the Neo Tropics, and even before Sam began

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<v Speaker 1>following his nose, the two cans undeniable graphic appeal led

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<v Speaker 1>to its dramatic profile gracing advertisements decades beforehand. Two cans

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<v Speaker 1>have been used to promote everything from Guinness beer in

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<v Speaker 1>the nineteen thirties to the Brazilian Social Democracy Party in

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<v Speaker 1>the nineteen eighties. But two cans in actuality don't have

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<v Speaker 1>anything to do with beer, democracy or cereal, although they

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<v Speaker 1>definitely concern themselves with fruit. Two cans are a group

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<v Speaker 1>of social birds native to Central and South America. They

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<v Speaker 1>spend their days doing what any good fruit givore that is,

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<v Speaker 1>fruit eater does, dispersing the seeds of the trees whose

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<v Speaker 1>fruits they eat. The smallest two can species, the lettered

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<v Speaker 1>are Sorry, is only about eleven inches that's twenty eight

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<v Speaker 1>centimeters tall, and weighs only about four and a half ounces.

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<v Speaker 1>That's around a hundred and thirty grams. But the largest,

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<v Speaker 1>the Toco two can, is nearly three times is tall

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<v Speaker 1>and six times is heavy. What all two can species,

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<v Speaker 1>and there are over forty of them, have in common

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<v Speaker 1>is their preference for their home turf. Two cans don't migrate,

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<v Speaker 1>their habit of making nests in the hollow cavities of trees,

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<v Speaker 1>and of course they're long, often colorful bills. For the article,

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<v Speaker 1>this episode is based on How Stuff Work. Spoke by

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<v Speaker 1>email with Thomas Schulenberg, who studies neotropical birds at the

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<v Speaker 1>Cornell Lab of Ornithology. He said, two cans use their

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<v Speaker 1>bills to do all the things that any bird would do,

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<v Speaker 1>but perhaps the most important function is to grab fruit,

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<v Speaker 1>and much of the fruit that they eat can be

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<v Speaker 1>swallowed in a gold gulp. The bird grabs something with

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<v Speaker 1>the tip of the bill, then tosses it towards the

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<v Speaker 1>back of the throat and swallows. Two cans also capture

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<v Speaker 1>and eat small vertebrates when they find them, mostly small

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<v Speaker 1>lizards and frogs, and the eggs and nestlings of smaller birds.

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<v Speaker 1>Aside from feeding, two cans use the bill to preen

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<v Speaker 1>the plumage just like any other bird. Of course, a

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<v Speaker 1>bird doesn't need a bill is splendid as the two

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<v Speaker 1>cans to eat fruit. Many other avian frugivores have substantially

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<v Speaker 1>smaller bills, so it must be that the bill of

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<v Speaker 1>the two can serves some other rolls aside from showing down.

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<v Speaker 1>In many two can species, the bill and head are

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<v Speaker 1>used in displays communications with their own kind. Schulenberg said

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<v Speaker 1>the larger species of two cans the genus run fastest.

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<v Speaker 1>The model for the fruit loop's icon, often perch on

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<v Speaker 1>exposed sites in the canopy and call while throwing the

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<v Speaker 1>head back and swinging it from side to side. And

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<v Speaker 1>in all species, the bill of the male is significantly

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<v Speaker 1>longer than the bill of the female, So resumably the

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<v Speaker 1>size of the two can bill owes as much or

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<v Speaker 1>more to sexual selection as it does to any functional requirement.

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<v Speaker 1>Two cans bills might also be useful for shedding excess heat.

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<v Speaker 1>A study published in the July two thousand nine issue

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<v Speaker 1>of Science magazine suggested that given the surface area of

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<v Speaker 1>the bill, which accounts for between thirty and fifty percent

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<v Speaker 1>of the bird's entire body, a two cans beak receives

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of blood, which can serve as a good

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<v Speaker 1>tool for thermal exchange. Schulenberg added there's a growing awareness

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<v Speaker 1>now that the bill serves a similar function even in

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<v Speaker 1>species with much smaller bills, such as sparrows. Since two

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<v Speaker 1>cans don't migrate, you won't find two can species anywhere

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<v Speaker 1>other than their native range, unless, of course, they were

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<v Speaker 1>taken there through the exotic pet trade. However, two cans

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<v Speaker 1>bear a striking resemblance to a type of bird found

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<v Speaker 1>in subtropical Africa and Asia called a hornbill. Both are

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<v Speaker 1>large birds with large, long, colorful bills, and superficially very similar,

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<v Speaker 1>but they're not really to one another at all. Schullenberg said.

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<v Speaker 1>The two can and hornbill branches of the bird world

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<v Speaker 1>diverged from each other around fifty to fifty five million

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<v Speaker 1>years ago, so they've each been going their own way

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<v Speaker 1>for a long long time. Any similarities between them are

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<v Speaker 1>the result of convergent evolution, the independent acquisition of similar

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<v Speaker 1>traits or behaviors. Although you'd have to be in the

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<v Speaker 1>neo tropics to see a two can in the wild,

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<v Speaker 1>some people do keep them as pets. They're not legal

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<v Speaker 1>in every country or even in every US state, but

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<v Speaker 1>can be kept in some places with a special license

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<v Speaker 1>or zoological certificate. Two cans are active and time consuming pets,

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<v Speaker 1>expensive due to their need for a constant supply of

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<v Speaker 1>fresh fruit, and are long lived. A two can in

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<v Speaker 1>captivity lives in average for around twenty to twenty five years. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>they are wild animals that haven't had generations to get

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<v Speaker 1>used to cohabiting with humans. Up toucan whose hormones are

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<v Speaker 1>telling him to perform a raucous mating display in your

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<v Speaker 1>kitchen just might be part of what you have to

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<v Speaker 1>get used to and will be much more challenging and

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<v Speaker 1>difficult to train away than, for example, a dog that

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<v Speaker 1>gets up too early on a Saturday morning. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>is based on the article the toucan is Far more

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<v Speaker 1>than the Fruit Loop's mascot on how stuff Works dot com,

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<v Speaker 1>written by Jesselyn Shields. Brain Stuff is production of I

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio in partnership with hostuffwork dot Com, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>produced by Tyler Klang. For more podcasts my heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

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<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows.