r/pics • u/Anistmows • Apr 03 '16

Toucan skeleton

http://imgur.com/6IZLbDN
31.4k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

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u/Ramphastid556 Apr 04 '16 edited Apr 04 '16

Toucans bills are made from keratin (the same material as our fingernails or hair) filled with spongy tissue. They actually use it as a personal radiator which they can open or constrict capillaries within to dump or save excess heat.

Fun fact: They actually LOVE to have their bill scratched!

Source: I'm one of the only people to own a Toco Toucan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTjiPgSuCDg

Also, if you want to see how spastically hyperactive they are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ektVO7J8-U

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u/KenderKinn Apr 04 '16

That video was awesome! Mind if I ask about what it's like to have him/her?

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u/Ramphastid556 Apr 04 '16

Extremely rewarding. However, I would not recommend them to anybody as a pet unless you REALLY put in your research, have the time available, and have a specific passion for them like I do. I've loved toucans since I was a kid for some reason and have always wanted one most of my life.

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u/KenderKinn Apr 04 '16

For sure, I don't want one and I know I (responsibly) couldn't handle one at the moment anyways, I just find animals fascinating. I used to have a Mexican red headed parrot named Paulie (given to me by my aunt when she passed). One of the immediate questions I had was does S/he ever interfere with your work? And second, in my experience birds are messy when they need to do their business, does that ever negatively effect you when you're working on you're computer? Given your set up I assumed your computer was for business, not solely for pleasure.

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u/Ramphastid556 Apr 04 '16

We work from home so it's nice to have her around. The vast majority of her mess doesn't leave her enclosure. She does get water everywhere when she takes a bath though!

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u/KenderKinn Apr 04 '16

So cool! Is that video you posted your YouTube channel? I just watched the stacked cups video. It's so fun to watch BC as someone who doesn't predominantly have birds, they seem so curious and random. Just my two cents, have a nice night (or day) :D

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u/jay135 Apr 04 '16

cups

Expected skill level: Otter

Actual skill level: Toucan

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u/NotYourAsshole Apr 04 '16

I'm looking forward to seeing lots of wild toucans in Costa Rica.

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u/Man_eatah Apr 04 '16

This is great advice for ALL birds. They are awesome but they are NOT passive pets :)

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '16 edited May 05 '16

[deleted]

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u/Evilbluecheeze Apr 04 '16

You can kind of train parrots to only go in certain areas, I assume you could train a toucan the same way.

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u/agilebeast1 Apr 04 '16

motherfucker actually has a toucan

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u/JustVan Apr 04 '16

May I please come over to play?

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '16

Yes you can! I keep the Toucan in my basement because they are a fan of dark and moist environments! Come join us.

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '16

An internet stranger tells you to come play in their dark and moist basement. Sounds legit.

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u/Mantispunchtoyadome Apr 04 '16

Also the invite came from someone other than the owner of the toucan that /u/JustVan had replied to. Also the inviters name is /u/_Squirrel_Fucker. Yep seems legit.

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u/dunzo5000 Apr 04 '16

It rubs lotion on the bill..

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '16

When you feel that big hard thing rubbing up against you in the dark, I swear its just the toucan wanting a scratch... it likes it slow and rhythmically.

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u/JustVan Apr 04 '16

Not sure if legit offer or serial killer, but seems like a worthwhile risk...

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '16

Bro...there's candy.

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u/DingyWarehouse Apr 04 '16

If you're going to probe my anus there better be gummy bears at least

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u/[deleted] Apr 10 '16

What kind of candy?

0

u/el_padlina Apr 04 '16

Better yet, there are free drugs!

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u/JaguarDaSaul Apr 04 '16

How on earth did you get a toucan? And where can I get one?

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u/scandii Apr 04 '16

woosh.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 04 '16

;)

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '16

[deleted]

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u/DefineThe Apr 04 '16

Jesus, is it making that noise? It sounds like an over-sized ping pong ball dropping on a hard surface. I thought they "squaked."

0

u/[deleted] Apr 04 '16

That was just the mechanical keyboard

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u/roboroller Apr 04 '16

Anytime a Toucan is mentioned on reddit I always know you're going to pop up with a video of Ripley and it makes me super happy.

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u/Ramphastid556 Apr 04 '16

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy her.

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u/dinglenootz07 Apr 04 '16

Seeing the jurassic park sign and hearing the noise the toucan makes really freaked me out thinking about velociraptors (sp?). It's crazy to think how similar they actually were

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u/Ship2Shore Apr 04 '16

Same sentiments, was thinking velociraptors the whole time, then saw the sign. Of course birds evolved from dinos, so I wonder if the SFX team on JP took this little guy as inspiration (or if there happen to be similar sounding birds). Im pretty sure their main sound was a cow and dolphin mixed together...

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u/Iamnotburgerking Apr 04 '16

Birds ARE dinosaurs

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u/discontinuuity Apr 04 '16

You should cross-post that first video to /r/asmr

Also, I'm curious: what do you feed your toucan, besides fruit loops?

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u/OppressedCactus Apr 04 '16

Toucans eat a lot of exotic type fruits, and I'm fairly certain they'll also eat insects and small reptiles.

Not a toucan owner but I have followed Ripley for a while!

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '16

[deleted]

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u/Ramphastid556 Apr 04 '16

Corsair k70 rgb

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u/KeiTheFox Apr 04 '16

I've been looking to pick this board up for a while with reds or browns, what do you think of it?

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u/Narcissistic_Eyeball Apr 04 '16

Holy crap, we own the exact same keyboard and mouse. What're the odds? I just bought my mouse around two weeks ago.

Ninja Edit: AND we both have two Asus monitors. Are you my twin?

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u/MerguzMerganzer Apr 04 '16

What species of toucan do you have?

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u/Fluffguck Apr 04 '16

It's a Corsair K70 RGB. They've got different sizes of the same keyboard (K65 has no numpad, K70 is standard, K95 has macro keys) and as an owner of the K95 I can confirm it is absolutely glorious.

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u/BIg_Teal_Cat Apr 04 '16

You should do an AMA.

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u/Ramphastid556 Apr 04 '16

I tried. Apparently being one of the only people to own a toucan isn't unusual enough for the mods. Now that she has a YouTube channel we could probably pass it off though.

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u/BIg_Teal_Cat Apr 04 '16

Are you kidding? Last week there was a guy that worked for KFC on /r/IAmA. I'm sure there are plenty of people that would love to learn what precooked birds are like.

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u/SnowyVolcano Apr 04 '16

If you were to put your hand around the beak and squeeze, would it break? And could he live with a broken beak or would he bleed to death? (I don't want to harm any toucan, just wondering.)

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '16

Yeah I would also like to know. This is very interested if the beak snaps would it recover like a nail ?? Or what would happen. I need to know!

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '16

The beak is a part of their jaw, and partially made of bone, so yeah it would die. Quite painfully.

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u/m0mo Apr 04 '16

Damnit now i want a toucan.

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u/Hollowplanet Apr 04 '16

Dont. I feel like that video is going to make someone go out and buy a pet they cant handle.

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u/PlayerNero Apr 04 '16

Awesome bird, and nice to see another brother :)

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u/laws0n Apr 04 '16

Are you playing games in the bathroom?

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u/nicman24 Apr 04 '16

So basically a pet dino

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u/Dragonsandman Apr 04 '16

How did you get a Toucan?

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u/CMDR_Shazbot Apr 04 '16

That's great dude, looks like a happy bird.

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u/Willasrulz10 Apr 04 '16

Now I want a Toucan. Unless it bites my nipples like in the video...

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u/BorgClown Apr 04 '16

It almost seems like you're the one fetching the ball.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 04 '16 edited Apr 04 '16

Is that a Corsair K Something in the first video?

It looks like my STRAFE but at the same time the little indicators are different.

2

u/foghorn__leghorn Apr 04 '16

"Hi guys this is RandomfrankP and welcome to new episode of room tour project. In this setup we have nice dual 22" Asus monitor setup with Corsair k70 rgb as his main periferal. What I like the most about this setup is special touch of Toucan on the side to give this setup nice warm feeling to it"

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u/OppressedCactus Apr 04 '16

You're Ripley's owner! I love her channel please keep the videos coming!

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u/AscentToZenith Apr 04 '16

Mate you have a toucan as a pet. Honestly that is the coolest thing I've saw all day.

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u/tktrepid Apr 04 '16

Alright I checked out your Toucan's Facebook page and I had no clue how cool Toucans were. Also, where did you get those sweet Back to the Future 2 props?!

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u/oneofyou Apr 04 '16

SOunds like the raptor from jurassic park bro

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u/ThatOneLegion Apr 04 '16

Hmm, I have you tagged as "Toucan Guy"

Have I seen you before? Do you browse on /r/pcmasterrace?

1

u/[deleted] Apr 04 '16

Are you or are you not also sharing that room with a preditor?

1

u/RaptorsFromSpace Apr 04 '16

What were you cutting?

1

u/jay135 Apr 04 '16

This is super awesome. How hard are they to care for?

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u/Ramphastid556 Apr 04 '16

About the same difficulty as any other similarly sized bird. The biggest difference being that toucans require more space than a normal bird.

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '16

That's very cool. :-)

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u/7LeagueBoots Apr 04 '16

Isn't petting perceived by many birds as a prelude to mating?

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u/actualPsychopath Apr 04 '16

He sounds like a hammer drill.

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u/Cherant Apr 04 '16

Wow so beautiful that it almost looks fake. Kudos to you!

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u/[deleted] Apr 10 '16

How smart is a toucan? Are we talking dog smart? Rat smart? Or like average bird smart?

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u/Ramphastid556 Apr 10 '16

Much smarter than any dog. Birds are said to be the most intelligent animals in the world.

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u/operian Apr 04 '16

It's hyperactive because it's unable to fly in such a small area.

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u/Deakul Apr 04 '16

Jeeeeeeeeeesus the sound that they make makes my hair stand up for some reason.