3 exotic Toco toucan chicks hatched at Fort Worth Zoo

Three exotic and colorful Toco toucan chicks have been hatched at the Fort Worth Zoo, a first for the species, the zoo announced Thursday.

“The toucan’s oversized, colorful bill has made it one of the world’s most popular birds,” according to National Geographic.

The Toco toucans, a male and two females, hatched on June 24 and 25.

“These feathered fledglings are something to celebrate as they mark the first toucan chicks in Fort Worth Zoo history,” the zoo said in a post on its Facebook page.

A video of the chicks shows them getting accustomed to their surroundings in the stone bird house at the zoo, just beneath Raptor Canyon. They’re there with their mother and father.

“It will be several months before their beaks grow to be as long and bright as their parents’,” the zoo said.

Toco toucans are found in South America’s tropical forests but are recognized everywhere. The Toco toucan is the largest member of the toucan family, according to the zoo. It has a loud, froglike call that can be heard a half-mile away in the jungle, according to the Zoological Wildlife Foundation.

Interesting facts: Though it appears to have blue eyes, its eyes are actually black but encircled by a thin layer of blue skin. Its tongue is nearly as long as its bill, and flat.

“The 7.5-inch-long bill may be seen as a desirable mating trait,” according to National Geographic, “but if so, it is one that both male and female toucans possess. In fact, both sexes use their bills to catch tasty morsels and pitch them to one another during a mating ritual fruit toss.”

The Fort Worth Zoo is a participant with other North American zoos in a breeding program to help prevent the Toco toucan’s extinction.

This story was originally published August 25, 2016 at 1:17 PM with the headline "3 exotic Toco toucan chicks hatched at Fort Worth Zoo."