Toucans. Tucanos. It really doesn’t matter what language you speak, there’s definitely something special about them. Whether you think that their brightly coloured, over-sized bill, wide, playful eyes and dinner jacket feathering makes them beautiful, funny or a little bit of both, it’s difficult not to be swayed by their appearance. It’s certainly no coincidence that, from Guinness to Disneyland (not to mention a dubious assortment of breakfast cereals), these iconic neo-tropical birds have been used by marketing men to charm customers the world over. Thankfully, therefore, this family of birds are accurately represented here in the concordantly charming Toucans of the Americas/Tucanos das Americas, one of those delightful books which has you smiling without realising.
It’s a fairly rare find to come across a book which so agreeably combines a work of science and a work of art – a feat this book manages to achieve quite effortlessly – whilst also being entirely bi-lingual. And, although it is too big to be used as a field identification guide, the scientific descriptions of each species will educate and inform whilst the accurate full-page colour plates skillfully capture the unique appeal of these birds whilst also staying true to the scientific nature of the book. This excellent book is available now and comes highly recommended.