Knysna Turaco or Knysna Lourie

The Knysna Turacos – in South Africa also known as Knysna LourieTauraco corythaix , is a large turaco that was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the Green Turaco of West Africa.

It is a resident breeder in the mature evergreen forests of southern and eastern South Africa, occurring in the narrow strip of forest in Africa from North East Transvaal through Natal, Cape Province, and Mozambique.

Description:

This unmistakable bird is 40 – 42 cm long, including a long tail. The small but thick orange-red bill and a white line just under the eye contrast with the mainly green plumage. It has a tall green crest, which is tipped with white.

The eye is brown and the eye-ring deep red. In flight, Knysna Turaco shows conspicuous crimson primary flight feathers.

Males and females look alike, but juvenile birds have a shorter crest without the white tips

Breeding / Nesting:

Knysna Turacos species lay two eggs in a shallow platform nest made from sticks and placed in a tree or clump of creepers.

Diet / Food:

It feeds on fruit, insects, and earthworms.

Call / Song:

It has a loud kow-kow-kow-kow call.

Touraco / Turaco InformationTuraco SpeciesTuracos as PetsBreeding the Turaco

 
 
 
 
 
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Gordon Ramel

Gordon is an ecologist with two degrees from Exeter University. He's also a teacher, a poet and the owner of 1,152 books. Oh - and he wrote this website.

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