Keel-billed Toucan vs Northern Gannet
Ramphastos sulfuratus compared with Morus bassanus
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Keel-billed Toucan | Northern Gannet |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Ramphastos sulfuratus | Morus bassanus |
| Order | Piciformes | Suliformes |
| Family | Ramphastidae | Sulidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 50.0 cm (19.7 in) | 93.0 cm (36.6 in) |
| Wingspan | 56.0 cm (22.0 in) | 180.0 cm (70.9 in) |
| Weight | 400.0 g (14.11 oz) | 3000.0 g (105.82 oz) |
| Diet | Primarily fruit, supplemented with insects, lizards, eggs, and nestlings. Uses its long bill to reach … | Shoaling fish, especially mackerel, herring, and capelin. Plunge-dives from heights of 30 meters at speeds … |
| Clutch Size | 1-4 | 1 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Keel-billed Toucan
Tropical and subtropical lowland rainforests and forest edges from sea level to about 1,900 meters.
Northern Gannet
Open ocean and coastal waters. Breeds in dense colonies on steep rocky islands and sea stacks.
Song & Call Comparison
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.
Northern Gannet
Loud, harsh 'urrah-urrah' grunting and croaking at breeding colonies on sea stacks. Also gives a softer 'karrr' in flight. Large colonies are extremely noisy during the breeding season.
Geographic Range & Migration
Keel-billed Toucan
Southern Mexico through Central America to northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela.
Northern Gannet
North Atlantic, breeding from Newfoundland and Gulf of St. Lawrence to Norway, Iceland, and Britain. Winters at sea south to the tropics.
Conservation Status
Keel-billed Toucan
Northern Gannet
How to Tell Them Apart
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
Northern Gannet
Brilliant white body with black wingtips and a golden-yellow wash on the head and nape. Blue-grey bill with dark lines and pale blue eye-ring.
Long, straight, pointed, pale blue-grey bill with serrated edges
About These Birds
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.
Northern Gannet
The northern gannet is a spectacular plunge-diver, folding its two-meter wingspan into an arrow shape to hit the water at up to 100 km/h. Air sacs under the skin and a reinforced skull protect it from the impact. Bass Rock in Scotland hosts over 150,000 gannets, the largest single colony of any seabird in the world.