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 winglength of 21 cm (8.3 in)[2] and weigh approximately 360 g (13 oz). 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.
Habitatedit
It is resident of West Africa, and has an extremely large range from Senegal through to the Nigeria, with isolated populations in Chad and the Central African Republic. It occurs in tropical savannas, wetlands, woodlands and forests.
Dietedit
Diet consists of fruit, and they are quite partial to figs, but they will also eat leaves, buds, flowers, insects, snails and slugs.
Reproductionedit
Cooperative breeding behavior has been observed in captivity in this species. They breed mainly during the rainy season, but the timing varies from place to place. As the breeding starts around April in Senegal and Gambia, while in Nigeria it occurs between June and October.[3] The female lays two eggs in a flimsy tree platform nest. Both male and female take care of the eggs and hatchlings.
Threatsedit
This species is locally common, but is vulnerable to trapping for the pet trade in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ghana.
Behavioredit
Turacos are social birds, travelling in flocks of around ten to twelve individuals. They are not strong fliers, preferring to hop along branches. When threatened, they can run quickly through the trees.[4] The violet turaco has a loud "cooroo-cooroo" call.
^Šťastný, Karel; Bejček, Vladimír; Vašák, Pavel (1998). "Turakovití (Musophagidae)". Svět zvířat V. Ptáci (2) (in Czech). Praha: Albatros, nakladatelství pro děti a mládež, a. s. p. 76. ISBN80-00-00657-X.
^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.
violet, turaco, violet, turaco, also, known, violaceous, plantain, eater, tauraco, violaceus, large, turaco, group, african, otidimorphae, jacksonville, florida, conservation, status, least, concern, iucn, scientific, classification, domain, eukaryota, kingdom. The violet turaco also known as the violaceous plantain eater Tauraco violaceus is a large turaco a group of African otidimorphae Violet turaco At Jacksonville Zoo Florida Conservation status Least Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Aves Order Musophagiformes Family Musophagidae Genus Tauraco Species T violaceus Binomial name Tauraco violaceus Isert 1788 Contents 1 Characteristics 2 Habitat 3 Diet 4 Reproduction 5 Threats 6 Behavior 7 Gallery 8 ReferencesCharacteristics editThese 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 winglength of 21 cm 8 3 in 2 and weigh approximately 360 g 13 oz 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 Habitat editIt is resident of West Africa and has an extremely large range from Senegal through to the Nigeria with isolated populations in Chad and the Central African Republic It occurs in tropical savannas wetlands woodlands and forests Diet editDiet consists of fruit and they are quite partial to figs but they will also eat leaves buds flowers insects snails and slugs Reproduction editCooperative breeding behavior has been observed in captivity in this species They breed mainly during the rainy season but the timing varies from place to place As the breeding starts around April in Senegal and Gambia while in Nigeria it occurs between June and October 3 The female lays two eggs in a flimsy tree platform nest Both male and female take care of the eggs and hatchlings Threats editThis species is locally common but is vulnerable to trapping for the pet trade in Guinea Sierra Leone Liberia and Ghana Behavior editTuracos are social birds travelling in flocks of around ten to twelve individuals They are not strong fliers preferring to hop along branches When threatened they can run quickly through the trees 4 The violet turaco has a loud cooroo cooroo call Gallery edit nbsp At Atlanta Zoo Georgia US nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Media related to Musophaga violacea at Wikimedia CommonsReferences edit BirdLife International 2012 Musophaga violacea IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012 e T22688387A93195573 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2016 3 RLTS T22688387A93195573 en Retrieved 26 November 2013 date doi mismatch Stastny Karel Bejcek Vladimir Vasak Pavel 1998 Turakoviti Musophagidae Svet zvirat V Ptaci 2 in Czech Praha Albatros nakladatelstvi pro deti a mladez a s p 76 ISBN 80 00 00657 X Violet Turaco www zoobarcelona cat 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 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Violet turaco amp oldid 1213023930, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
