Yellow-billed Turaco Tauraco macrorhynchus Scientific name definitions

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.

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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.

Lowland and montane gallery forest : largely restricted to primary forest, only rarely wandering into secondary growth. Sea-level to 1600 m.

Sedentary in all areas.

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.

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.

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.

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.