Knysna Turaco (Tauraco corythaix)

Cover image: Knysna Turaco by Andre Kok – George, Western Cape – BirdPix No.193795

Turacos, Go-Away-Birds and Plantain Eaters belong to the family MUSOPHAGIDAE. The family name literally means ‘Banana Eaters’ and all species are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. They are medium-sized arboreal birds with prominent crests, relatively short, rounded wings and long tails. They have semi-zygodactylous feet for clambering around in tree canopies. The turacos are noted for their peculiar and unique pigments namely, turacoverdin (green feathers) and turacin (red feathers).

Identification

Knysna Turaco sexes are alike. They are predominantly olive-green especially on the head, neck, mantle and breast. The lower back, tail, wing coverts, and inner secondaries are dark blueish-green. The belly and flanks are a duller brownish-green and the vent and under tail coverts are greyish-black.

The prominent crest is green with a narrow white fringe and an indistinct blackish border between the green and white. The face is distinctively marked with a small black patch below and in front of the eye and with two conspicuous white stripes, one below the eye extending to the ear coverts, and another shorter stripe in front of the eye. The eyes are dark brown and the bare skin surrounding the eye is bright scarlet.

The primaries and outer secondaries are brilliant crimson with broad black edging. The crimson wing patch is conspicuous in flight, but is visible only as a red strip on the lower edge of the folded wing, and is often not visible. The short, almost triangular bill is orange-red with a slightly hooked tip. The legs and feet are black.

Juveniles are similar to adults but have reduced red patches on the wings. Additionally, the bare skin around the eye is blackish (not red) and the bill is brownish in younger juveniles, slowly turning red as they mature.

In southern Africa the Knysna Turaco can only be mistaken for two other closely related species. These are Schalow’s Turaco (Tauraco schalowi) and the Livingstone’s Turaco (Tauraco livingstonii). Confusion with Schalow’s Turaco is unlikely as the distributions of the two are widely separated. The range of the Knysna Turaco overlaps very marginally with that of Livingstone’s Turaco in eastern eSwatini (Swaziland). The latter has a longer, more pointed crest, that is narrowly (not broadly) tipped white and has paler blue-green wing coverts and a green (not blueish) wash to the tail.

Status and Distribution

The Knysna Turaco is a fairly common resident and is endemic to South Africa and eSwatini (Swaziland). It ranges from near Mossel Bay in the Western Cape, northwards along the coast and adjacent interior to central KwaZulu-Natal, where it is largely confined to the Midlands. It also occurs from north-western eSwatini to eastern Mpumalanga and north to the Soutpansberg in the Limpopo Province.

The Knysna Turaco is currently listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. The species is locally impacted by forest destruction, and by the exploitation of forest patches for medicinal plants. Populations in central Kwazulu-Natal were severely affected during the 19th century by the extensive cutting of hardwood trees and the resultant loss of food resources.

Habitat

The Knysna Turaco inhabits Afromontane forest and is considered an indicator species for this forest type. It is found at lower altitudes in the south of its range where it occurs down to sea-level from the Western and Eastern Cape to southern KwaZulu Natal. Further north in central KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo the Knysna Turaco is restricted to mistbelt Afromontane forest at 500-1 500 m above sea-level. This forest type receives a high rainfall and is usually tall and multi-layered, and is dominated by large trees, particularly Yellowwoods (Afrocarpus falcatus, Podocarpus latifolius and Podocarpus henkelii).

The Knysna Turaco also inhabits coastal forest and secondary growth in southern KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.

Behaviour

The Knysna Turaco is a sedentary, resident species but wanders locally in response to the availability of fruiting trees. They are usually encountered solitarily, in pairs or in family groups of 3 to 5. Larger numbers of up to 50 or more birds sometimes gather to feed at fruiting trees.

The flight is heavy and laboured with frequent bouts of gliding. They seldom fly far and typically land in the middle canopy of trees. Knysna Turacos are very agile in the tree tops, running and bounding effortlessly along branches and through foliage. The semi-zygodactylous feet have reversable outer toes and are specially adapted for this purpose.

The Knysna Turaco is often vocal, except while nesting, and the call of one bird often elicits a response from another until the whole group is calling together. Their loud ‘barking’ or ‘crowing’ calls are a familiar sound in their dense forest habitat.

They frequently sunbathe while perched in the canopy, especially in the early morning or late afternoon. The Knysna Turaco drinks regularly from forest streams and bird baths. They drink water like a pigeon, immersing the bill tip and sucking up the water. They also bathe frequently by squatting in shallow water with the tail held up and fanned out, while splashing water over the body with the partially opened wings.

The Knysna Turaco is arboreal and forages in the canopy of fruiting trees, but will occasionally descend to the ground to feed on fallen fruit. The diet consists of a wide variety of wild and cultivated fruits, including Guava (Psidium guajava) and Pawpaw/Papaya (Carica papaya), as well as the fruits of alien trees. The diet is supplemented by invertebrates, including termite alates, particularly during the breeding season. Fruits are preferably swallowed whole and large seeds are regurgitated, but small seeds pass through the gut.

The Knysna Turaco breeds from May to February with a peak from September to November. Pairs are monogamous and nest solitarily. They are only territorial when breeding. The nest is built cooperatively by both sexes in about 5 days. One of the pair collects and delivers nesting material to the site while the other constructs the nest. Nest material is collected directly from the canopy by snapping off brittle twigs with the bill. They are not known to collect fallen twigs from the ground. The pair are often vocal while nest building and frequently call to each other, but once incubation begins they become silent and secretive.

The nest is composed of interlaced twigs and is a flimsy saucer-shaped platform resembling a large dove nest, 200-300 mm across, with a shallow depression in the centre. The nest is usually placed 3-9 meters above the ground in a dense tangle of creepers or among leafy twigs on the outermost branches of a tree and is always well concealed by foliage.

The eggs are plain white and almost spherical. Clutches usually consist of 2, or occasionally 1 egg and they are laid at 1-day intervals. Incubation starts before the clutch is completed resulting in asynchronous hatching. The incubation period takes up to 24 days and duties are shared by both sexes. The eggs are covered continuously and are rarely left unattended.

Once the eggs hatch the adults keep the nest clean by eating the eggshells and the chick’s faeces. This also serves to keep smells away from the nest that may draw the attention of hungry predators. The newly hatched young are semi-precocial and hatch in a relatively advanced state with their eyes open and their bodies covered by a dense coat of blackish-grey down. They have a carpal claw on the wing which enables them to clamber from the nest before they are able to fly. Nestlings are fed regurgitated food by both parents. The young leave the nest after 21 days or so. They grow rapidly from this point and are able to fly after about 28 days.

Further Resources

This species text is adapted from the first Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP1), 1997.

The use of photographs by Alan Collett, Andre Kok, Desire Darling, Gregg Darling, Jean Hirons, Lia Steen, Marius Meiring, Megan Loftie-Eaton, Neels Putter and Pamela Kleiman is acknowledged.

Virtual Museum (BirdPix > Search VM > By Scientific or Common Name).

Other common names: Knysna Lourie (Alt. English); Knysnaloerie (Afrikaans); iGwalagwala (Zulu); lgolomi (Xhosa); Touraco louri (Dutch); Touraco de Knysna (French); Helmturako (German); Turaco de Knysna (Portuguese).

List of species available in this format.

Recommended citation format: Tippett RM 2024. Knysna Turaco Tauraco corythaix. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available online at https://thebdi.org/2024/09/16/knysna-turaco-tauraco-corythaix/

Bird identification, birding