16-440: See text 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 -colored plumage 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
32-440: Is actually usually held at right angles to the axis of the foot. The plumage of go-away-birds and plantain-eaters is mainly grey and white. The turacos on the other hand are brightly coloured birds, usually blue, green or purple. The green colour in turacos comes from turacoverdin , the only true green pigment in birds known to date. Other "greens" in bird colors result from a yellow pigment such as some carotenoid , combined with
48-815: Is known from the Middle Miocene of Grive-Saint-Alban ( France ). It was established as Apopempsis by Pierce Brodkorb in 1971, but this is pre-empted by Schenkling's 1903 use of the name for some beetles . "Apopempsis" africanus (Early Miocene of Kenya) might also belong there. Further fossil material of putative musophagids was found in Egypt as well as in Late Oligocene deposits at Gaimersheim in Germany and Middle Miocene deposits at Grive-Saint-Alban and Vieux-Collonges (each in France). While it
64-512: Is not entirely certain that these fossils are indeed of turacos, it nonetheless appears as if the family evolved in the Oligocene of central Europe or perhaps northern Africa, and later on shifted its distribution southwards. The climate of those European regions during the late Paleogene was not too dissimilar to that of (sub)tropical Africa today; the Saharan desert was not yet present and
80-526: Is of interest to scientists, being present in forest species but absent in savanna- and acacia-living species. Little is known about the longevity of wild turacos, but in captivity they are proving to be exceptionally long-lived, easily living to 30 years in captivity. A bird in the Cotswold Wildlife Park collection in England approached its 37th year. The fossil genus Veflintornis
96-399: Is weak, but they are strong climbers and are able to move nimbly on branches and through vegetation. Juveniles have claws on the wings that help them climb. They have a unique foot arrangement, where the fourth toe can be brought around to the back of the foot where it almost touches the first toe, or brought around so that it is near the second and third. In spite of this flexibility the toe
112-475: The bird family Musophagidae ( / ˌ m j uː z oʊ ˈ f æ dʒ ɪ d iː / "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 (outer) toe can be switched back and forth. The second and third toes, which always point forward, are conjoined in some species. Musophagids often have prominent crests and long tails;
128-616: The Fossil Butte Member of the Green River Formation ( Wyoming , United States ) was a stem -turaco. The IOC World Bird List (version 10.1) recognises 23 species of turaco in six genera. However, a phylogenetic analysis by Perktaş et al (2020) found genus Tauraco polyphyletic and a revised classification has been proposed based on molecular, morphological and biogeographic analysis. This study recognised 33 species-level taxa in seven genera corresponding to
144-534: The Late Eocene or Early Oligocene of France is occasionally considered a musophagid, but its relationships have always been disputed. It is not often considered a turaco in more recent times and has been synonymised with the presumed gruiform Talantatos , though it is not certain whether this will become widely accepted. The phylogenetic analysis conducted by Field & Hsiang (2018) indicated that Eocene ( Wasatchian ) species Foro panarium known from
160-488: The distance across the Mediterranean was not much more than what it is today. Thus such a move south may well have been a very slow and gradual shifting of a large and continuous range. The Early Eocene Promusophaga was initially believed to be the oldest record of the turacos; it was eventually reconsidered a distant relative of the ostrich and is now in the ratite family Lithornithidae . Filholornis from
176-523: The go-away-birds being especially noted for their piercing alarm calls , which alert other fauna to the presence of predators ; their common name is onomatopoeia of this. Musophagids build large stick nests in trees, and lay 2 or 3 eggs. The young are born with thick down and open, or nearly-open, eyes. Most turacos are medium-sized birds – an exception being the large great blue turaco – with long tails and short, rounded wings. They range in length from 40 to 75 cm (16–30 in). Their flight
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#1732779860919192-798: The greens of many parrots etc. are due to structural color , not pigment. Their genus name was derived from a native West African name. The genus Tauraco was introduced in 1779 by the Polish naturalist Jan Krzysztof Kluk . The type species was later designated as the Guinea turaco . The genus contains 13 species. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Turaco The turacos make up
208-1916: The major clades. The following phylogenetic tree is based on this proposal and uses their proposed genus and species names. Corythaeola cristata ( great blue turaco ) Crinifer leucogaster ( white-bellied go-away-bird ) Crinifer piscator ( western plantain-eater ) Crinifer zonurus ( eastern plantain-eater ) Crinifer personatus ( bare-faced go-away-bird ) Crinifer concolor ( gray go-away-bird ) Gallirex porphyreolophus (southern purple-crested turaco ) Gallirex chlorochlamys ( northern purple-crested turaco ) Gallirex kivuensis ( Kivu turaco ) Gallirex johnstoni ( Rwenzori turaco ) Menelikornis ruspolii ( Prince Ruspoli's turaco ) Menelikornis leucotis ( white-cheeked turaco ) Menelikornis donaldsoni ( Donaldson's turaco ) Musophaga macrorhynchus (western yellow-billed turaco ) Musophaga verreauxii ( eastern yellow-billed turaco ) Musophaga violacea ( violet turaco ) Musophaga rossae ( Ross's turaco ) Proturacus bannermani ( Bannerman's turaco ) Proturacus erythrolophus ( red-crested turaco ) Proturacus leucolophus ( white-crested turaco ) Tauraco emini ( eastern black-billed turaco ) Tauraco hartlaubi ( Hartlaub's turaco ) Tauraco persa ( Guinea turaco or eastern green turaco) Tauraco buffoni ( western green turaco ) Tauraco fischeri ( Fischer's turaco ) Tauraco reichenowi ( Reichenow's turaco ) Tauraco corythaix ( Knysna turaco ) Tauraco livingstonii ( Livingstone's turaco ) Tauraco schuettii ( black-billed turaco ) Tauraco chalcolophus ( Ngorongoro turaco ) Tauraco schalowi ( Schalow's turaco ) Tauraco marungensis ( Zambia turaco ) Tauraco loitanus ( Loita turaco ) Notes: The species of Musophagidae, arranged in taxonomic sequence and Paleofile.com websites are: Gregarious Too Many Requests If you report this error to
224-714: The order ranking of Musophagiformes. Musophagidae is one of very few bird families endemic to Africa, one other being the mousebirds , Colliidae. All species are frugivorous , but they also eat leaves, buds, and flowers. Figs are an important part of their diet. They have rounded wings and long tails and strong legs, making them poor fliers, but good runners. Turacos are medium-sized arboreal birds endemic to sub-Saharan Africa , where they live in forests , woodland and savanna . Turacos can occasionally be found outside of their native range as escapes from captivity. They are gregarious , non-migratory birds which move in family groups of up to 10. Many species are noisy, with
240-542: The prismatic physical structure of the feather itself which scatters the light in a particular way and giving a blue colour. Turaco wings contain the red pigment turacin , unlike in other birds where red colour is due to carotenoids. Both pigments are derived from porphyrins and only known from the Musophagidae into the 21st century, but especially the little-researched turacoverdin might have relatives in other birds. The incidence of turacoverdin in relation to habitat
256-505: The turacos are noted for peculiar and unique pigments giving them their bright green and red feathers. Traditionally, this group has been allied with the cuckoos in the order Cuculiformes , but the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy raises this group to a full order Musophagiformes . They have been proposed to link the hoatzin to the other living birds, but this was later disputed. Recent genetic analyses have strongly supported
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