Turaco crestiblanco

Identificación

This distinctive bird has glossy, bluish-black upperparts which contrast markedly with its white crest, cheeks, neck and throat. It possesses a green mantle around the shoulders and violet wing coverts and rectrices.

Taxonomía

The white-crested turaco was first described in 1855 by the German explorer and ornithologist Theodor von Heuglin. Genetic studies show that this species is closely related to the red-crested turaco (Tauraco erthrolophus) and Bannerman's turaco (Tauraco bannermanii), having diverged from them in the late Pliocene. At that time, climatic changes occurred which subsequently led to increasingly arid conditions, a decrease in forest cover and an increase in wooded savannah. The white-crested turaco maintained a widespread distribution, perhaps by adapting to new habitats, while Bannerman's turaco became restricted to montane habitats where the forest cover remained.

Nombre científico

Tauraco leucolophus

Autoridad

(Heuglin, 1855)

Orden

Musophagiformes

Familia

Musofágidos

Género

Tauraco

Distribución y hábitat

The white-crested turaco is native to Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya and Uganda. It occurs in lowland forests, woodland and savannah, and in hilly habitats up to an altitude of about 2,200 m (7,200 ft).

Migración

Resident species

Comportamiento

The white-crested turaco typically inhabits forests alongside rivers and wooded savannahs, particularly where there are tangled masses of creepers. It mostly eats berries and fruits, but also consumes flowers and invertebrates such as snails. The breeding season varies across the range, being April in the Congo and August in Uganda. The nest is a rather insubstantial, saucer-shaped structure.

Conservación

Tendencia poblacional

stable