The bird that looks like a mango is known as the Turaco. Turacos are brightly colored forest birds found throughout sub-Saharan Africa. With their bright yellow and green plumage, it’s easy to see why they are often compared to the colorful tropical mango fruit.
Quick Facts about the Turaco
Here are some quick facts about the Turaco:
- There are 23 different species of Turaco.
- Turacos are medium-sized birds, ranging from 12 to 24 inches long.
- Their bright yellow and green feathers stand out against the forest canopy.
- Turacos have short, thick beaks well-suited for eating fruits.
- They feed primarily on fruits, berries, leaves, buds, and blossoms.
- Turacos are important seed dispersers in tropical forests.
- They have loud, repetitious calls that echo through the treetops.
- Turacos are not strong flyers and spend most of their time hopping between branches.
- They build large nests in trees using sticks and leaves.
- Turacos lay 2-4 eggs at a time which both parents help incubate.
Physical Description
Turacos are uniquely colored birds with short, thick beaks, short legs, and long tails. As mentioned, their plumage is a vibrant mix of greens, yellows, reds, and blues. The Green Turaco is the most distinctly “mango-like” with its bright yellow crown, neck, thighs, and wing feathers contrasting with its green back and tail feathers. Other species also have yellow heads, necks, or breast feathers combined with green, red, or blue plumage on their backs, wings, and tails. The feathers on their heads often form a bushy crest. Turacos have short legs and toes adapted for grasping branches rather than walking on the ground. Their short, thick, and slightly downcurved beak is specialized for eating fruit and berries. With a wingspan reaching up to 26 inches, Turacos have relatively short, rounded wings and are not very strong flyers. Instead, they prefer to hop and climb between branches and only fly short distances when necessary.
Colorful Feathers
The colorful feathers of the Turaco are unique in the avian world. Unlike most other brightly colored birds, the red, yellow, and green hues are not produced by pigments, but by light refraction through special follicles in their feathers. The specific mechanisms that produce their green coloration involve the presence of copper. If a Turaco feather is washed in a chemical solution, it turns a drab gray or brown color, but the original brilliance returns once it dries. This unusual feather composition means that Turacos do not have to consume pigment-rich foods in order to synthesize bright colors, as many other birds do. Their feathers get brighter as they age rather than fading like most birds’.
Habitat and Distribution
Turacos are found exclusively in the woodlands and rainforests of sub-Saharan Africa. Their range stretches from Guinea and Sierra Leone in the west to Ethiopia and Tanzania in the east. Turacos prefer dense, humid forests with ample canopy cover. They avoid dry open areas. Most species live in lowland forests up to 6,500 feet in elevation, but some can inhabit forests at altitudes up to 9,800 feet. Due to widespread deforestation, many Turaco species have decreasing populations as their forest habitats decline across Africa.
Places Turacos Live
Here are some of the places Turacos can be found living in tropical African forests:
- Guinea
- Sierra Leone
- Liberia
- Cote d’Ivoire
- Ghana
- Nigeria
- Cameroon
- Congo
- Equatorial Guinea
- Gabon
- Central African Republic
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Uganda
- Kenya
- Rwanda
- Burundi
- Tanzania
- Malawi
- Angola
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
- Mozambique
- South Africa
- Ethiopia
Diet
Turacos are primarily frugivorous, meaning they eat fruits, berries, and seeds. They use their short, thick beaks like a parrot to pluck and consume fleshy fruits right off the branch. Berries compose up to 90% of their diet depending on the season. When fruits are scarce, they supplement their diet with leaves, buds, blossoms, and some insects. Their fruit-centric diet plays an important ecological role in dispersing the seeds of forest trees and shrubs. Turacos will swallow the seeds as they eat and later regurgitate them or pass them through their droppings undamaged so they can germinate into new plants. Some fruits that Turacos commonly feed on include:
- Figs
- Papayas
- Mangos
- Guavas
- Plantains
- Peaches
- Plums
- Berries
- Melons
- Gourds
- Pods
- Blossoms
Fruit | Description |
---|---|
Figs | Soft sweet fruits filled with tiny seeds that turacos swallow and disperse through the forest |
Papayas | Sweet tropical fruit orange or red in color with small black seeds |
Mangos | Juicy yellow and red fruits with large pits |
Guavas | Round or pear-shaped fruits with pink, yellow, or white flesh |
Plantains | Starchy banana-like fruit that provides energy |
Peaches | Soft, fuzzy drupes with sweet yellow flesh |
Fruit Feeding Behavior
Turacos have some interesting fruit feeding behaviors and adaptations:
- Swiftly pluck fruits while climbing through branches
- Swallow fruits whole if small enough
- Peel fruits like bananas with their beak before eating the flesh
- Hold large fruits with their foot while peeling the skin with their beak
- Regurgitate seeds after digesting fruits
- Crumple tough skins using small stones held in their beak
- Will fly short distances to reach fruit trees
Behavior and Lifestyle
Turacos lead arboreal lifestyles feeding and nesting high up in the dense forest canopy. They move through the trees by hopping and climbing from branch to branch, rarely descending to the forest floor. Turacos are quite clumsy on the ground. When spooked, they prefer to escape through the treetops. They can flap powerfully for short bursts but do not migrate or engage in long flights. Outside the breeding season, they form small flocks, often with other fruit-eating birds. Their loud cries echo through the forest as they communicate with flock members. At night, they rest in treetop perches while still camouflaged by their green plumage.
Daily Routine
The typical daily routine for a Turaco may look like this:
- Dawn: Awake at first light and call loudly to flock members
- Morning: Forage for fruits and berries in the high canopy
- Mid-day: Rest during the hottest part of the day in shady foliage
- Afternoon: Search for more ripe fruits and seeds to consume
- Evening: Settle into a night-time roost as the sun goes down
- Night: Sleep while standing on a thick branch or vine tangle
Roosting
Turacos do not build nests just for sleeping. They simply perch upright while gripping a suitable tree branch. Often, they choose dense clumps of vines or foliage that help camouflage them from predators at night. Their short legs lock in a squatting position to stabilize them while roosting. The toes automatically clench around the perch even when asleep. Turacos often return to the same roosting site each evening. In areas disturbed by humans, they may choose to roost in more concealed locations.
Reproduction and breeding
The breeding season for Turacos varies across their range based on regional weather patterns. In wetter areas, they breed during the driest months. In equatorial areas, breeding can occur year-round. Courtship displays involve the male puffing up his body feathers, spreading his wings, and bobbing his head. He also feeds the female fruit as part of the courtship ritual. Turacos are monogamous and mate for life. They build a large nest together high up in the trees by weaving together sticks, leaves, bark, and vines. The nest is bowl-shaped and typically about 2 feet wide and 8 inches deep.
Nests and Eggs
Some key facts about Turaco nesting and eggs:
- Nests are made of interwoven sticks and greenery
- Built by both the male and female partner
- Usually placed 30-100 feet high in a tree
- The female lays 2-4 eggs per clutch
- Eggs are pale bluish-green with brown speckles
- Incubated by both parents for about 3 weeks
- Hatchlings are covered in gray down
Raising Young
Turaco pairs work together to raise their altricial young:
- Both parents incubate the eggs
- They take turns brooding the hatchlings
- The chicks are fed regurgitated fruit pulp
- Fledglings leave the nest at 5-7 weeks old
- Parents continue feeding them for several more weeks
- Young reach maturity and breed at 1-2 years old
Threats and Conservation
Several Turaco species are under threat due to habitat loss across Africa. Deforestation to support agriculture, logging, and human settlement has damaged their dense forest home. Some species now have patchy distributions due to forest fragmentation. Turacos may also face pressure from the pet trade due to their beautiful plumage. However, they do not adapt well to captivity. Turacos are not specifically targeted by hunters for food, though they may be killed opportunistically. Specific conservation actions include protecting remaining intact forests, allowing secondary forests to regrow, and banning export for the pet trade. Stable Turaco populations can indicate healthy forest ecosystems.
Threat | Impact on Turacos |
---|---|
Deforestation | Loss of habitat for feeding and breeding |
Forest fragmentation | Disrupts range and reduces population sizes |
Pet trade | Captures wild turacos for their colorful feathers |
Hunting | Opportunistic killing for food |
Conservation Actions
Here are some conservation actions that can protect Turaco populations:
- Preserve intact primary rainforests
- Allow logged forests time to regrow
- Establish forest corridors between fragments
- Ban export for the pet trade
- Engage in ecotourism centered on Turacos
- Set aside protected reserves with Turacos
Conclusion
With their uniquely colorful plumage and important ecological role, Turacos are fascinating birds deserving of conservation attention. By protecting Africa’s remaining tropical forests, we can ensure these mango-hued birds continue to brighten the tree canopy. Turacos highlight the critical connections between birds, fruits, seeds, and forest regeneration. Simply by following their natural fruit-eating behaviors, Turacos help sustain the diverse ecosystems they inhabit. If you have the chance to glimpse these exotic birds in an African rainforest, take a moment to appreciate the tropical biodiversity on display.