Violet turaco

Violet turaco
At Jacksonville, Florida
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Musophagiformes
Family:	Musophagidae
Genus:	Musophaga
Species:	M. violacea
Binomial name
Musophaga violacea (Isert, 1788)

The violet turaco, also known as the violaceous plantain eater (Musophaga violacea), is a large turaco, a group of African near-passerines. It is resident in West Africa, and has an extremely large range from Senegal through to the Nigeria, with an isolated population in Chad and Central African Republic. It occurs in tropical savannas, wetlands, woodlands and forests.

These are unmistakable birds, but shy and often inconspicuous in the treetops. They are approximately 48 cm (19 in) long, including a long tail and a 4 cm (1.6 in) bill. They boast a wingspan of 21 cm (8.3 in) and weigh approximately 360g. The plumage is glossy violet, except for the yellow forehead, chestnut crown and white ear coverts; the bill is thick and red. In flight, the violet turaco's crimson primary flight feathers contrast with the violet plumage. The red colour in the wings is typical of turacos (indeed, the family name comes from turacine, a copper-based pigment).

This species is locally common, but is vulnerable to trapping for the pet trade in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ghana. The female lays two eggs in a flimsy tree platform nest. Diet consists of fruit, and they are quite partial to figs, but they will also eat leaves, buds, flowers, insects, snails and slugs.

Turacos are social birds, travelling in flocks of around ten to twelve individuals. They are not strong fliers but they can run quickly through the branches. Cooperative breeding behavior has been observed in captivity in this species.^[2]

Violet turaco has a loud cooroo-cooroo call.

Gallery

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  At Atlanta Zoo, Georgia, USA

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References

1. BirdLife International (2012). "Musophaga violacea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
2. Bent, Nancy; Corbett, Francine (1993). "Helping behaviour and other observations on nesting in the violet turaco". Avicultural Magazine 99 (3): 132–135. ISSN 0005-2256.

Birds of The Gambia by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, ISBN 1-873403-32-1
Violaceous plantain eater (Musophaga violacea) http://www.torontozoo.com/explorethezoo/AnimalDetails.asp?pg=436

External links

• Extract of an article about Violaceous Touracos on International Touraco Society website.
• Fact sheet from Toronto Zoo: http://www.torontozoo.com/Animals/details.asp?AnimalID=436