The Spirit of Belize

The Keel Billed Toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus) is the national bird of Belize. I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to photograph this beautiful bird on my recent trip there. During my travels I made it my personal goal to find and photograph this bird in particular because, come on, its a freaking Toucan! The Keel Billed Toucan is a fairly large bird, weighing in at about 14oz and measuring up to 20 inches. They are omnivorous, feeding mostly on local fruits, reptiles, insects, eggs, and smaller birds. As far as birds go, the Keel Billed Toucan is a fairly poor flyer, mostly hopping about from branch to branch using their zygodactyl feet (toes facing opposite directions). They live up to 20 years under ideal conditions and lay from 1 to 4 eggs at a time that hatch approximately 15 to 20 days after being laid. Despite the bulky appearance of the Toucans bill, they are surprisingly light due to their keratin makeup and are thought to be used predominantly for mating displays and as defensive weapons. Stay tuned for more awesome shots from my adventures and my upcoming post about the history of the Mayan city Xunantunich.
Sources: https://seaworld.org/Animal-Info/Animal-Bytes/Birds/Keel-Billed-Toucan
https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/species/keel-billed-toucan
https://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/Species-Account/nb/species/kebtou1/overview
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keel-billed_toucan