White-crested turaco
Tauraco leucolophus
White-crested turacos are one of the most colourful African birds.
Their red and green colour is due to a special copper pigmentation which is unique to the turaco species.
Another distinctive feature is the bird’s toes. Each claw has a pair of toes that face forward and a pair that faces backwards, so each bird has eight toes in total. All turacos have a more flexible toe on the rear of each claw that can move to the side, making it easier for the birds to grip branches and climb trees.
The average white-crested turaco is approximately 38 centimetres long and weighs between 140 and 230 grams.
IUCN red list status
The IUCN status of the white-crested turaco is least concern.
For more info on classifications visit www.iucnredlist.org.
Animal class
Bird
Conservation status
The IUCN has listed the white-crested turaco as being not in any danger of extinction.
Habitat
Forest
Population
This type of bird is very common in the wild. As a result exact numbers of white-crested turacos are unknown.
Diet
Omnivore. White-crested turacos have a diet of fruit, seeds, leaves, flowers and, occasionally, caterpillars, moths, beetles, snails and slugs.