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Tim Flach British, b. 1958
Toco Toucan - Front On, 2021Series: BirdsC-Type print122 x 95.5 cm
48 1/8 x 37 5/8 inEdition of 5 plus 2 artist's proofs70 x 55 cm
27 1/2 x 21 5/8 inEdition of 10 plus 2 artist's proofsFurther 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
