Giant turaco
| Giant turaco | ||||||||||
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Giant turaco ( Corythaeola cristata ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Corythaeola cristata | ||||||||||
| ( Vieillot , 1816) |
The giant turaco ( Corythaeola cristata ) is the largest species of turaco .
features
The 75 cm long giant turaco has a long tail and short, rounded wings. The wide, upright hood is always up. The plumage is blue on top and red and yellow on the underside.
Occurrence
The giant turaco inhabits forest edges of the lowlands, gallery forests near rivers , mountain forests and forest islands in the savannah in West and Central Africa.
behavior
The flying skills of this bird are limited to sliding and circling downwards. Jump from branch to branch to get back up. It feeds mainly on fruits, but also on invertebrates . The giant turaco is a shy bird, but it gathers in troops that sometimes call in chorus for minutes. The chorus begins with plaintive calls, followed by short kok-kok tones, and ends with deeper, vibrating calls.
Reproduction
The nest, a thin platform made of dry twigs, is built high in the trees. The female incubates two eggs alone for around 18 days. During this time it is supplied with food by the male. Both parent birds feed the chicks with strangled food. The young birds have small claws on their wings that are used when climbing in the branches. The young birds fledge at 24 to 26 days.
literature
- Colin Harrison & Alan Greensmith: Birds. Dorling Kindersly Limited, London 1993, 2000, ISBN 3-8310-0785-3 .
- Bryan Richard: Birds. Parragon, Bath, ISBN 1-4054-5506-3 .
Web links
- Corythaeola cristata in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed January 31 of 2009.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Corythaeola cristata in the Internet Bird Collection