''Tauraco'' is a genus of
turacos. It contains the "typical" or green turacos; though their plumage is not always green all over, the presence of significant amounts of
turacoverdin
Turacoverdin is a unique copper uroporphyrin pigment responsible for the bright green coloration of several birds of the family Musophagidae, most notably the turaco. It is chemically related to turacin, a red pigment also found almost exclusively ...
-colored
plumage
Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...
generally sets ''Tauraco''
species apart from other
Musophagidae. Indeed, as opposed to any other known
birds, ''Tauraco''
turacos are the only living bird
taxa that have any significant green
pigment whatsoever, as the greens of many
parrots etc. are due to
structural color, not pigment. Their genus name was derived from a native
West African name.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Tauraco'' was introduced in 1779 by the Polish naturalist
Jan Krzysztof Kluk
Jan Krzysztof Kluk (September 13, 1739 – July 2, 1796) was a Polish naturalist agronomist and entomologist.
He was the son of Jan Krzysztof Adrian and Marianna Elżbieta. His father, an impoverished nobleman, was a building contractor and ...
. The
type species was later designated as the
Guinea turaco.
Species
The genus contains 13 species.
References
External links
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q654783
Bird genera
