Tim Flach British, b. 1958
Toco Toucan - Front On, 2021
Series: Birds
C-Type print
122 x 95.5 cm
48 1/8 x 37 5/8 in
48 1/8 x 37 5/8 in
Edition of 5 plus 2 artist's proofs
70 x 55 cm
27 1/2 x 21 5/8 in
27 1/2 x 21 5/8 in
Edition of 10 plus 2 artist's proofs
Further images
Measuring up to 9 inches (23 cm) long, the bill of a toco toucan accounts for a third of its total body length, making it the largest bill relative to...
Measuring up to 9 inches (23 cm) long, the bill of a toco toucan accounts for a third of its total body length, making it the largest bill relative to body size of any bird. Although the birds use them in a variety of ways, they are believed to have initially evolved as a sexual display: toucans and their closest relatives all have extremely colorful bills, and they use them extensively during their courtship rituals, in which the male toucan presents the female with a gift—usually a large nut or piece of fruit—and then carefully uses his beak to place it inside her bill.
Excerpt from "Birds" by Tim Flach, texts by Richard O. Prum, Abrams, 2021
Excerpt from "Birds" by Tim Flach, texts by Richard O. Prum, Abrams, 2021