About Corythaeola cristata (Vieillot, 1816)
Size and Taxonomy
The great blue turaco, scientific name Corythaeola cristata (Vieillot, 1816), is typically 70–76 cm (28–30 in) long and weighs 800–1,231 g (1.764–2.714 lb).
Plumage Features
Adult great blue turacos have mostly grey-blue upperparts, an upright blue-black crest, a white chin, a yellow-green lower breast, and a yellow belly that darkens to chestnut brown toward the rear. Their undertail coverts are chestnut, and the undertail itself is patterned black and yellowish.
Soft Part Characteristics
The bill is yellow with an orange-red tip, the eyes are brown and encircled by a ring of bare black skin, and the legs and feet are black with yellow soles. Males and females have similar plumage.
Geographical Range
This species is distributed from Guinea in the west, east across sub-Saharan nations to the Imatong Mountains in South Sudan; it also lives in Uganda, Tanzania, western Kenya, and extends south to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola.
Habitat Preferences
It lives in rainforests and gallery forests, and has also adapted to and can thrive in areas cleared by humans.
