Great Blue Turaco
Corythaeola cristata
Wonderful, cartoonish bird. Note the tall black crest and the red-and-yellow bill. The tail pattern is distinctive in flight: note the black bar across the end of the tail and the pale green sides. Found in rainforest, gallery forest, and lush secondary habitat. Usually in small groups. Gives two distinctive calls, sometimes in conjunction: a deep “jeeeow” and a rapid, cackling series of incredibly loud notes.
Identification
Generally, the great blue turaco is 70–76 cm (28–30 in) in length with a mass of 800–1,231 g (1.764–2.714 lb). The adult great blue turaco has predominantly gray-blue upperparts with an upright blue-black crest, white chin, yellow-green lower breast and yellow belly darkening to chestnut brown posteriorly. The undertail coverts are chestnut, and the undertail is black and yellowish. The yellow bill has an orange-red tip, the eyes are brown, and surrounded by a ring of black bare skin. The legs and feet are black with yellow soles. The sexes have similar plumage.
Taxonomy
French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot described the great blue turaco as Musophaga cristata in 1816, before German ornithologist Ferdinand Heine placed it in its own genus in 1860.<p>The great blue turaco is the sole member of the subfamily Corythaeolinae within the turaco family. Its closest relatives are the go-away birds and plantain eaters of the genus Crinifer. The common ancestor of both diverged from the ancestor of all other turaco species.<p>"Great blue turaco" has been designated the official common name by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC). It is also called blue plantain eater.
- Scientific name
- Corythaeola cristata
- Authority
- (Vieillot, 1816)
- Order
- Musophagiformes
- Family
- Musophagidae
- Genus
- Corythaeola
Range and habitat
The species ranges from Guinea in the west, and east across the sub-Saharan nations to the Imatong Mountains in South Sudan; it also occurs in Uganda, Tanzania and western Kenya, south to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola. It inhabits rainforests and gallery forests. It has also adapted to areas cleared by humans and can thrive in these areas.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The great blue turaco is gregarious, with birds forming small troops of some six or seven individuals.<p>The great blue turaco eats leaves, flowers, as well as fruit of many plant species, including those of the genera Musanga, Cissus, Ficus (such as Ficus capensis) Polyalthia, Heisteria, Dacryodes, Pachypodanthium, Uapaca, Strombosia, Trichilia, Drypetes, Viscum, Beilschmiedia, Coelocaryon, Croton, and Pycnanthus. In Kenya, it has been recorded eating mitzeeri (Bridelia micrantha) in April, loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) in July, guava (Psidium guajava) in September and Cordia africana over November and December. Fieldwork in Rwanda revealed leaves constituted around 25% of its diet, being eaten more often when fruit is less abundant. The species also play a role in seed dispersal as it generally passes seed in its faeces some distance from parent trees.<p>The species nests in trees between 8 and 25 metres (26 and 82 ft) above the ground, and the nest is a platform of sticks. Both sexes incubate the clutch of two (rarely one or three) eggs over 29–31 days. The eggs are white or greenish-white and almost round, measuring 46–50 mm by 41–43 mm (1.8–2.0 in by 1.6–1.7 in).
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Orange-headed Thrush
Geokichla citrina
Brightly-colored ground-dwelling thrush. Bright orange head, breast, and belly are unmistakable. Some subspecies have two broad black crescents on the sides of the face. Hops about foraging in the leaf litter in forested areas, often in wet gullies and ravines. Beautiful song is composed of well-spaced strophes of warbling and buzzy notes.
White-headed Petrel
Pterodroma lessonii
A large gadfly petrel with a pale white head and a distinctive dark eye-patch. Back is pale gray with darker outer wings, creating an “M” shape on the back. Look for stout black bill and pinkish-colored feet. Breed on Antipodes and Auckland Islands in the New Zealand region and also on subantarctic Indian Ocean and Macquarie Islands. Forages between the subantarctic and Antarctic convergence zones. Three similar species: Soft-plumaged Petrel is smaller with gray-brown head and band on upper breast; Gray Petrel is larger with a smaller, darker head, a pale green bill, and a long neck; and pale morph Kermadec Petrel is smaller, lacks an eye patch, has darker upperparts, and shows white patches under the wing.
Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Weaver
Plocepasser rufoscapulatus
Large and distinctive weaver. Note the pale bill, bold head pattern, rufous back, and white wingbars. Found locally in miombo broadleaf woodland. Quiet and inconspicuous bird that feeds on the ground but often perches up in trees. The most common vocalization is a loose, metallic trill. Somewhat like White-browed Sparrow-Weaver, but easily separated by pale bill, striped head pattern, and rufous back.
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