White-crested Turaco

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. Look for a flash of red feathers on the underside of the turaco's wings as it hops through the trees. All turaco species have these feathers, which they show off during courtship displays. Turacos can fly, but they spend most of their time hopping through the trees of their forest habitat. Their loud calls help them communicate in the dense foliage. Both the female and male turacos sit on the eggs and help rear the chicks. Another distinctive feature is the birds’ toes. Each claw has a pair of toes that face forward and a pair that face 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 striking White Crested can easily be identified by its white crest, chin, neck and nape. In Africa, they have a large range and are considered common. They can be found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, and Uganda. Their preferred habitats include riverine forestry from 100 to 2200m, open woodland, and drier scrub areas.This species feeds on fruits, seeds, leaves and flowers, as well as the occasional arthropod. This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.