Great Blue Turaco

The Great Blue Turaco is the largest member of this family. The adult has turquoise-blue upperparts, including wings and tail. The tail is long and wide, and shows a broad, black subterminal band. Most birds have narrow blue tips. The outer rectrices are partially edged yellow. The wings lack the crimson primaries of other turacos. On the underparts, neck and upper breast are turquoise-blue. Lower breast and belly are greenish-yellow, as the undertail feathers. The tail has black subterminal band. Lower belly, undertail-coverts and tibial feathers are chestnut. On the turquoise-blue head, there is a conspicuous blue-black raised crest on forecrown and crown. Chin, throat, cheeks and outer eye-ring are greyish. The large convex bill is bright yellow with red tip. The eyes are reddish-brown, surrounded by bare dark turquoise-blue eye-ring. Legs and feet are blackish. The Great Blue Turaco gives loud series of deep, resonant, guttural “kok-kok-kok”. A bubbling softer trill may sometimes precede this series “prru…prru”. These calls are usually uttered at dawn and dusk. The Great Blue Turaco usually frequents the canopy of forest and gallery forest, and also tall trees in secondary growth. It can be found in low humid forest and montane forest, and forest patches in savannahs. It can be seen from sea-level to 2700 metres of elevation.