The great blue turaco (''Corythaeola cristata'') is a

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 lightweigh ...

species of 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 ( ...

. At in length, it is the largest species of turaco. It has predominantly grey-blue plumage with an upright blue-black crest around high. The male and female have similar plumage. It is widespread throughout the African tropical rainforest.

Taxonomy

French ornithologist Louis Vieillot described the great blue turaco as ''Musophaga cristata'' in 1816, before German ornithologist

Ferdinand Heine Jakob Gottlieb Ferdinand Heine (9 March 1809, in Halberstadt – 28 March 1894) was a German ornithologist and collector. Heine had one of the largest private collection of birds in the mid-19th century. The collection now housed at the Heineanum ...

placed in its own genus in 1860. 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 ''Crinifer'' is a genus of birds in the turaco family. They are restricted to Africa. Formerly, the genus only contained the plaintain-eaters, but in 2021 go-away-birds were merged into the genus. They are large noisy and conspicuous birds, but ...

''. The common ancestor of both diverged from the ancestor of all other turaco species. "Great blue turaco" has been designated the official

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

by the

International Ornithologists' Union The International Ornithologists' Union, formerly known as the International Ornithological Committee, is a group of about 200 international ornithologists, and is responsible for the International Ornithological Congress and other international ...

(IOC). It is also called blue plantain eater.

Description

Generally, the great blue turaco is in length with a mass of .''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), . 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 undertail 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. File:Corythaeola cristata.jpg File:Great Blue Turaco SMTC.jpg, At

San Diego Zoo The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, housing 4000 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies on of Balboa Park leased from the City of San Diego. Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, is a p ...

, California File:Taxidermied Great Blue Turaco (Corythaeola cristata) at Museu da Ciência da Universidade de Coimbra.jpg, Taxidermied specimen at

Science Museum of the University of Coimbra The Science Museum of the University of Coimbra (Museu da Ciência da Universidade de Coimbra) gathers the historical scientific collections of several units of the University of Coimbra, in Coimbra, Portugal. It includes the collection of scientif ...

, Portugal

Distribution and habitat

The species ranges from Guinea east across Africa to the Imatong Mountains in southern Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Western Kenya and south to Democratic Replublic of Congo and Angola. It inhabits rainforest and gallery forest. It has adapted to areas cleared by humans and can persist in these areas.

Behaviour

The great blue turaco is gregarious, with birds forming small troops of six or seven individuals.

Feeding

The great blue turaco eats leaves, flowers, as well as fruit of many plant species, including those of the genera '' Musanga'', ''

Cissus ''Cissus'' is a genus of approximately 350 species of lianas (Woody plant, woody vines) in the grape family (Vitaceae). They have a cosmopolitan distribution, though the majority are to be found in the tropics. Uses Medicinal ''Cissus quadrang ...

'', ''

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending in ...

'' (such as ''

Ficus capensis ''Ficus sur'', with the common names Cape fig and broom cluster fig,The etymology of the specific name is unclear. It may be of Arabic origin and suggest Sur, Oman, where it is not native. is a widespread Afrotropical species of cauliflorous fig ...

'') ''

Polyalthia ''Polyalthia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Annonaceae. There are approximately 90 species distributed from Africa to Asia and the Pacific.

'', ''

Heisteria ''Heisteria'' is a genus of plants in the family Olacaceae, although it is sometimes listed under the largely unrecognized family erythropalaceae. It contains the following species (this list may be incomplete): * ''Heisteria acuminata'' * ''Hei ...

'', ''

Dacryodes ''Dacryodes'' is a genus of about 60 species of trees in the family Burseraceae. The generic name is from the Greek ' meaning "tear(drop)", referring to how resin droplets form on the bark surface. Description ''Dacryodes'' species grow as shrub ...

'', '' Pachypodanthium'', ''

Uapaca ''Uapaca'' is a genus of plant, in the family Phyllanthaceae first described as a genus in 1858. It is the only genus comprised in the tribe Uapaceae. The genus is native to Africa and Madagascar. ''Uapaca'' is dioecious, with male and female f ...

'', '' Strombosia'', ''

Trichilia ''Trichilia'' is a flowering plant genus in the family Meliaceae. These plants are particularly diverse in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America. Several species are used in folk medicine and shamanism – e.g. '' T. rubescens'' ag ...

'', ''

Drypetes ''Drypetes'' is a plant genus of the family Putranjivaceae, in the order Malpighiales. It was previously in the family Euphorbiaceae, tribe Drypeteae, and was the sole pantropical zoochorous genus of the family. The genus comprises about 200 ...

'', ''

Viscum ''Viscum'' is a genus of about 70–100 species of mistletoes, native to temperate and tropical regions of Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia. Traditionally, the genus has been placed in its own family Viscaceae, but recent genetic research by ...

'', ''

Beilschmiedia ''Beilschmiedia'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in family Lauraceae. Most of its species grow in tropical climates, but a few of them are native to temperate regions, and they are widespread in tropical Asia, Africa, Madagascar, Australia, N ...

'', '' Coelocaryon'', '' Croton'', and '' Pycnanthus''. In Kenya, it has been recorded eating mitzeeri (''

Bridelia micrantha ''Bridelia micrantha'', the mitzeeri or the coastal golden-leaf, is a tree in the family Phyllanthaceae and is native to tropical and southern Africa as well as to the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. Description A medium to tall tree (u ...

'') in April, loquat (''

Eriobotrya japonica The loquat (''Eriobotrya japonica'') is a large evergreen shrub or tree, grown commercially for its orange fruit and for its leaves, which are used to make herbal tea. It is also cultivated as an ornamental plant. The loquat is in the family ...

'') in July, guava (''

Psidium guajava ''Psidium guajava'', the common guava, yellow guava, lemon guava, or apple guava is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to the Caribbean, Central America and South America. It is easily pollinated by insects; when cultivated, it is pollina ...

'') in September and ''

Cordia africana ''Cordia africana'' or Sudan teak is a mid-sized, white-flowered, evergreen tree in the borage family (Boraginaceae), native to Africa. It produces edible fruit, and its wood is used for drums or other carpentry. Uses ''Cordia africana'' has be ...

'' over November and December. Fieldwork in Rwanda revealed leaves constituted around 25% of its diet, being eaten more often when there are less fruit. The species also plays a role in seed dispersal as it generally passes seed in its feces some distance from parent trees.

Breeding

The species nests in trees between above the ground, the

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materia ...

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).

Interactions with humans

Highly regarded as food in west Africa, it is often hunted and eaten by local people. The BaMbala and related tribes around the town of

Kikwit Kikwit is the largest city of Kwilu Province, lying on the Kwilu River in the southwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kikwit is also known in the region under the nickname "The Mother". The population is approximately 458,000 ( ...

in the DRC, call the great blue turaco ''kolonvo''. The meat is popular in smaller villages, and the long tail feathers are prized for decorations. The

Mbuti people The Mbuti people, or Bambuti, are one of several indigenous pygmy groups in the Congo region of Africa. Their languages are Central Sudanic languages and Bantu languages. Subgroups Bambuti are pygmy hunter-gatherers, and are one of the oldest ...

of the

Ituri Rainforest The Ituri Rainforest is a rainforest located in the Ituri Province of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The forest's name derives from the nearby Ituri River which flows through the rainforest, connecting firstly to the Aruwimi Rive ...

in the Democratic Republic of the Congo tell of the great blue turaco (which they call ''kulkoko'') as linked with okapi, telling them of danger. They also believe that eating the species while pregnant may result in a difficult delivery or birth deformity. It is also a clan totem animal and as such, cannot be eaten by members of that clan; if they do eat it their teeth are said to fall out.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q847182, from2=Q10750082

great blue turaco The great blue turaco (''Corythaeola cristata'') is a bird species of the family Musophagidae. At in length, it is the largest species of turaco. It has predominantly grey-blue plumage with an upright blue-black crest around high. The male and ...

Birds of the African tropical rainforest Birds of the Gulf of Guinea