Fischer's Turaco
Tauraco fischeri
A spectacular turaco with iridescent dark blue wings and tail and a green head and breast. Note the ornate markings on the head: a moderate crest that is white-and-orange along the back, and white stripes above and below the eye. Like all turacos, shows large crimson wing patches in flight. Found in coastal forest and woodland and along forest edge. Acts like a typical turaco, bouncing through the trees and flying occasionally with short bursts of wingbeats and long glides. Overall similar to Livingstone’s and Hartlaub’s Turacos, but easily separated by the orange in the crest. Call is a gruff, accelerating series of “kow” notes.
Identification
Measurements:<p>These green bodied turacos have a white-tipped reddish crest, a black belly, and red primaries. They also feature green-blue wings and a dark blue-green tail.<p>The red skin around their eyes is margined in front by a white line that extends to its bright red bill, and below by a small black patch also boarded by a white line that extends to below its ear-covets. Their white eye stripes and red orbital skin help to distinguish them from the more common Red-crested turaco.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Tauraco fischeri
- Authority
- (Reichenow, 1878)
- Order
- Musophagiformes
- Family
- Musophagidae
- Genus
- Tauraco
Range and habitat
The Fischer's turaco inhabits coastal and riverine forest and woodland in Coastal East Africa, specifically in Kenya, north-eastern Tanzania, and southern Somalia. This species lives in forest thickets, but does favor the canopy and sub-canopy of mature fruiting trees. They are common in their limited range, but are more often heard than seen because they travel alone or in pairs, which makes them hard to spot.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
The population of Fischer's turacos is decreasing, with the current number of mature individuals estimated to be 1,500 - 7,000. This species is currently protected by the United Nations' Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITIES) Appendix II. In Somalia, Notification to the Parties No. 2004/055 was enacted in 2019, which suspended all commercial trade of the species.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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