Common Nightingale vs Keel-billed Toucan
Luscinia megarhynchos compared with Ramphastos sulfuratus
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Common Nightingale | Keel-billed Toucan |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Luscinia megarhynchos | Ramphastos sulfuratus |
| Order | Passeriformes | Piciformes |
| Family | Muscicapidae | Ramphastidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 16.5 cm (6.5 in) | 50.0 cm (19.7 in) |
| Wingspan | 25.0 cm (9.8 in) | 56.0 cm (22.0 in) |
| Weight | 21.0 g (0.74 oz) | 400.0 g (14.11 oz) |
| Diet | Insects and larvae, supplemented with berries in autumn. Forages on or near the ground in … | Primarily fruit, supplemented with insects, lizards, eggs, and nestlings. Uses its long bill to reach … |
| Clutch Size | 4-5 | 1-4 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Common Nightingale
Dense thickets, scrub, and undergrowth in deciduous woodland. Prefers areas with thick ground cover near water.
Keel-billed Toucan
Tropical and subtropical lowland rainforests and forest edges from sea level to about 1,900 meters.
Song & Call Comparison
Common Nightingale
Considered Europe's finest songster: an extraordinarily rich, loud, flute-like melody of bubbling trills, slow whistles, and a distinctive crescendo 'lu-lu-lu'. Sings day and night.
Keel-billed Toucan
Produces a repeated frog-like croaking 'prrrek-prrrek' or 'terrio-terrio'. Not melodic; the call resembles a mechanical rattle or frog. Also gives bill-clattering.
Geographic Range & Migration
Common Nightingale
Breeds in Europe and western Asia. Winters in sub-Saharan Africa. A long-distance migrant crossing the Sahara.
Keel-billed Toucan
Southern Mexico through Central America to northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela.
Conservation Status
Common Nightingale
Keel-billed Toucan
How to Tell Them Apart
Common Nightingale
Plain warm brown upperparts with a rufous-chestnut tail. Pale greyish-white underparts. Unremarkable appearance belies its remarkable voice.
Thin, pointed, dark brown bill
Keel-billed Toucan
Black body with a bright yellow throat and chest. Red undertail coverts. The enormous bill is green with orange sides, a blue patch, and a red tip.
Enormous, lightweight, multicolored bill up to 15 cm long — green, orange, blue, and red
About These Birds
Common Nightingale
The common nightingale is celebrated as one of the finest songsters in the bird world, inspiring poets from Homer to Keats. Males sing complex phrases of over 250 different types, often at night during breeding season. Despite its famous song, the nightingale is a plain-looking bird that skulks in dense vegetation.
Keel-billed Toucan
The keel-billed toucan is the national bird of Belize and one of the most recognizable birds in the Neotropics. Its oversized bill, which can be a third of its body length, is actually very light due to its hollow honeycomb structure. Toucans roost communally, with up to six adults squeezing into a single tree cavity.