The bare-faced go-away-bird (''Crinifer personatus'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

in the family

Musophagidae The turacos make up the bird family Musophagidae ( "banana-eaters"), which includes plantain-eaters and go-away-birds. In southern Africa both turacos and go-away-birds are commonly known as loeries. They are semi-zygodactylous: the fourth ( ...

which is native to the eastern Afrotropics. It is named for its distinctive and uniquely bare, black face.

Description

The sexes are similar, other than the female's green beak. It is long beak to tail, and weighs approximately 210 to 300 grams.

Habits

It is a noisy and restless species, that moves about singly or in groups. Its call is a double or repetitive ''kow-kow.''

Range and habitat

It is found in two disjunct areas in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

: one in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, and the other in Burundi,

DRC The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...

, Rwanda,

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

and

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

. It occurs in open woodland, thickets and in cultivation with scattered trees. It may be found at altitudes of up to 1,400 metres, but at Loita up to 2,200 metres in scattered

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

, acacia and evergreen scrub.

Races

Two geographically isolated races are accepted: * ''C. p. personatus'' (Rüppell, 1842) –

Ethiopian Rift Valley The Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia, (or Main Ethiopian Rift or Ethiopian Rift Valley) is a branch of the East African Rift that runs through Ethiopia in a southwest direction from the Afar Triple Junction. In the past, it was seen as part of a "Gr ...

::Description: More extensive green breast plumage, underside of wings and tail greenish, face with minute brown plumes * ''C. p. leopoldi'' (Shelley, 1881) – s

, Rwanda, Burundi, sw

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

, n

, ne

and se

. ::Description: Face bare and black, less extensive green breast plumage

Food

These birds primarily eat fruits, leaf buds, and seeds.

Reproduction

Like other Turacos, the bare-faced go-away-bird lays two to three greenish-white eggs each mating season. Nests are often built in tall acacia trees.

References

External links

Bare-faced go-away-bird, sound recordings
xeno-canto {{Taxonbar, from=Q1078923 bare-faced go-away-bird Birds of East Africa bare-faced go-away-bird Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Eduard Rüppell Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN