Yellow-billed Turaco Tauraco macrorhynchus Scientific name definitions
Text last updated March 16, 2017
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Species names in all available languages
Language | Common name |
---|---|
Catalan | turac becgroc |
Czech | turako žlutozobý |
Dutch | Geelsnaveltoerako |
English | Yellow-billed Turaco |
English (United States) | Yellow-billed Turaco |
French | Touraco à gros bec |
French (France) | Touraco à gros bec |
German | Blaurückenturako |
Japanese | ハシブトエボシドリ |
Norwegian | blåvingeturako |
Polish | turak żółtodzioby |
Portuguese (Angola) | Turaco-de-bico-amarelo |
Russian | Желтоклювый турако |
Serbian | Žutokljuni turako |
Slovak | turako veľkozobý |
Spanish | Turaco Piquigualdo |
Spanish (Spain) | Turaco piquigualdo |
Swedish | gulnäbbad turako |
Turkish | Sarı Gagalı Turako |
Ukrainian | Турако жовтодзьобий |
Tauraco macrorhynchus (Fraser, 1839)
Definitions
- TAURACO
- macrorhyncha / macrorhynchos / macrorhynchus
The Key to Scientific Names
Legend Overview
Field Identification
40–43 cm; male 261–272 g, female 216–234 g. Head, neck and breast green; rounded helmet-like crest green , tipped black and white; wing-coverts , inner secondaries, scapulars, mantle, rump and tail glossy violet-blue; primaries and outer secondaries crimson ; belly blackish, washed with green, undertail-coverts black; small velvety black patch below lores extends back in very thin black line, while under it a broader white one extends from gape to ear-coverts; eye dark brown, with bright red wattled orbital ring surrounded by thin black line; large bill bright yellow usually with dark red base; legs and feet black. Immature duller. Race <em>verreauxii</em> has crest tipped crimson and black, not black and white, and violet-blue of upperparts heavily washed with green.
Systematics History
Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.
Lower Guinea form verreauxii has elongate feathers of hindcrown tipped blackish and dull red rather than white and black (score 3), but otherwise appears very similar to nominate, including vocally; split may, however, be supported by genetic evidence (1). Two subspecies recognized.Subspecies
Yellow-billed Turaco (Yellow-billed) Tauraco macrorhynchus macrorhynchus Scientific name definitions
Distribution
Tauraco macrorhynchus macrorhynchus (Fraser, 1839)
Definitions
- TAURACO
- macrorhyncha / macrorhynchos / macrorhynchus
The Key to Scientific Names
Legend Overview
Yellow-billed Turaco (Verreaux's) Tauraco macrorhynchus verreauxii Scientific name definitions
Distribution
Tauraco macrorhynchus verreauxii (Schlegel, 1854)
Definitions
- TAURACO
- macrorhyncha / macrorhynchos / macrorhynchus
- verreauxii / verreauxius / verreauxorum
The Key to Scientific Names
Legend Overview
Distribution
Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.
Habitat
Lowland and montane gallery forest : largely restricted to primary forest, only rarely wandering into secondary growth. Sea-level to 1600 m.
Movement
Sedentary in all areas.
Diet and Foraging
Primarily a fruit-eater, particularly favouring Musanga, Coelocaryon, Polyalthia, Cissus, Heisteria, Maesopsis, Pachypodanthium, Trichilia, Uapaca, Macaranga, Trichoscypha, Ficus, Hugonia and Dacryodes. Also eats tree seeds and shoots, as well as snails and insects flushed by swarms of army ants.
Sounds and Vocal Behavior
Main call a very long series of up to 55 raucous cawing notes that initially increase in pace, and preceded by a single, short, less harsh note and a longer pause, e.g. “whoh...groh-groh-groh-groh..groh..groh..groh...” (total duration up to 21 seconds). Also utters short grating notes and a long series of crow-like croaks.
Breeding
Dec and Feb in Sierra Leone; Jun–Aug and Dec–Jan in Cameroon; and May–Jun, Aug and Dec–Jan in Gabon. Nest a flimsy platform of dry twigs, well hidden in tree foliage, 7–10 m above ground; reports of ground nesting on Bioko require confirmation. Lays 2 oval, creamy-white eggs; incubation by both sexes.
Conservation Status
Not globally threatened. CITES II. Reported to be not uncommon, or even common, in primary forest at Mt Nimba in Liberia, around Makokou in Gabon , and in suitable habitat in Sierra Leone, but few data on actual numbers. Elsewhere appears to be uncommon, although it may be overlooked or perhaps confused with similar species. The fact that it seems to be restricted largely to primary forest could make it especially vulnerable to further deforestation and localized tree-felling.