Here you will find a collection of articles on toucans, toucanets, and aracaris, as well as articles on other softbill birds. Scroll to the bottom of this page, or click on the softbill link to see the softbill bird articles.
New articles have been added to the softbill articles section, including articles on honeycreepers/sugarbirds, and mousebirds.
This is chapter 47 from the book AVIAN MEDICINE: Principle and Applications by Hans Cornelissen and Branson Ritchie. This chapter discusses toucan health, behavior and anatomy. Since the book's writing there has been an increased understanding of proper toucan diet, so there is a bit of outdated information in this book as far as toucan diet goes (such as suggesting feeding them pinky mice and tomatoes). A bit outdated, but a good read on toucan behavior, anatomy, and conditions. You can see the other chapters from the book here.
Several of these articles discuss toucan diet. There have been disagreements over the particulars of what and how much of it should be in a toucan’s diet (for example there is some dispute on whether items particularly high in vitamin C should be fed only sparingly). One way however to tell if information is out of date is if it includes items such as citrus or dog food (including biscuits, kibble etc..) two things now known to be hazardous to the health of toucans.
Engineers Discover Why Toucan Beaks Are Models of Lightweight Strength.
This is an article from UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering
about how it is that toucan beaks are so light weight despite their large size.
Wiki Pet Bird: Emerald toucanet entry
Wiki Pet Bird is like Wikipedia, but just for pet birds. So far I've been a main contributor to their emerald toucanet article. A good site to join if you want to share your knowledge of birds, and they could use more members.
Ramphastid Enrichment
This is PDF from the Nashville Zoo on ramphastid enrichment, that is, ways of keeping the lives
of captive toucans interesting.
Toucans and Their Captive Reproduction
An article by toucan breeder and expert Jerry Jennings. This is a an article
on housing and breeding toucans, as well as the very important subject of toucan
diet. This website is a very good resource for those interested in keeping toucans.
Toucans... My Experiences with their Care and Breeding
This article by Amado Summers used to be up on this toucan breeder’s
website. The website disappeared once Amado got out of the toucan
breeding business, but fortunately Softbillsforsale.com kept it up
on their site.
Aracari Food Guide
This PDF is exactly what it sounds like. This food guide was found on
Toucan Do It!.
Credit goes to Andersen, F., Crean, J., Shaheen, D., Stewart, D., Stewart, E.
Breeding the Chestnut Eared Aracari
In this article found on Softbillsforsale.com Shelly Nice writes
about breeding chestnut eared aracaris.
Lawyer one with toucans
An article from signonsandiego.com on Jerry Jennings and his history as a toucan
breeder, but also stands as an interesting article on toucans and their captive breeding
in the USA in general.
The Aracaris
This PDF is as the title suggests about aracaris, their history in captivity, and also on breeding
and caring for them. This PDF also has information on the various species of aracaris. It was
written by Josef Lindholm III senior aviculturist at the Dallas World Aquarium.
The macaw, the toucan, and the manduvi
A very interesting article by on the ecological relationship between hyacinth macaws,
toco toucans and the manduvi tree by Dr. David Suzuki.
Biological Ramblings: How Many Toucanets? Part 1.
Biological Ramblings: How Many Toucanets? Part 2.
Emerald toucanets are generally classified as being one species
with as many as seventeen subspecies. However there is some debate
over whether perhaps some of those birds believed to be subspecies
are really separate species in their own right. This is a good
article on that subject.
The Purple Sugarbird - Feathered Flyer
A short writeup on purple sugarbirds, also called yellowlegged honeycreepers, and their care.
Sugarbirds bare some superficial resemblance to hummingbirds, but are actually in the tanager family.
Mousebirds by Jim Gintz
A great article on mousebirds as
pets, and in aviculture, with a focus on the author's own mousebird Mickey. These guys look to me like what would
happen if someone mixed a finch with a cockatiel. They are known to be very affectionate pets, and also
have a nice small size and are from all accounts I've heard they are pretty quiet.