Toucans have large brightly-colored beaks that are adapted for fruit-eating. Each species’ beak is distinctively colored, which seems to serve as a "flag" to allow toucans to find others of their species in the dense vegetation.

Toucans nest in holes high in trees. They are weak fliers and usually short-glide or hop among tree branches in the canopy layer, searching for fruits and berries. The seeds of some forest plants can only be successfully germinated after passing through the digestive tract of animals like the toucan. Other seeds can only be successfully scattered throughout the forest with the help of birds and mammals like toucans, macaws, monkeys, and the capybara.

Though mainly specialized fruit-eaters, toucans sometimes search in bromeliads and tree holes for frogs and lizards, snap at flying insects or grab baby birds out of tree holes and nests.