Meaning & use
toucans
Last updated
“toucans” is a form of “toucan”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
nounplural
Large tropical birds from Central and South America that have very big, colorful beaks and mostly dark feathers, and eat fruit.
Grammar: This is the plural form; use it when you mean more than one. For a single bird, say 'a toucan'.
Patterns
- toucans live in ...
- a flock of toucans
- toucans eat ...
We saw several toucans flying near the river in Costa Rica.
Toucans use their huge beaks to reach fruit on thin branches.
The zoo has a pair of toucans in the tropical bird house.
Word forms
| singular | toucan |
|---|---|
| plural | toucans |
Common combinations
- a flock of toucans
- A flock of toucans landed in the trees above us.
- colorful beak
- The toucan's colorful beak makes it easy to identify.
- tropical rainforest
- Toucans are often found in the tropical rainforest.
- native to
- Toucans are native to Central and South America.
- fruit-eating bird
- Toucans are fruit-eating birds that also eat insects and small lizards.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hornbill
- Hornbills are similar large-billed birds but live in Africa and Asia, not the Americas.
- tropical bird
- This is a general term for any bird living in the tropics; toucans are a specific family of such birds.
Word family
- toucan noun
- The singular form, used for one bird.
Commonly confused: toucans or tucan? toucans or pelican?
toucans vs tucan
A common misspelling; the correct spelling is 'toucan'.
toucans vs pelican
Pelicans are water birds with large throat pouches, not toucans.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'toucans' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 3 is correct because 'toucans' is plural and agrees with 'we saw' and the plural verb 'are' is not needed. Option 1 uses 'a' with a plural, which is wrong. Option 2 uses a singular verb 'is' with a plural subject. Option 4 also uses 'is' with a plural subject.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “toucans”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.