home   about   search

biodiversity explorer

the web of life in southern Africa

Musophagidae (lourie / tauraco family)

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Deuterostomia > Chordata > Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates)  > Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) > Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class: Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial vertebrates) > Tetrapoda (four-legged vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota > Reptilia (reptiles) > Romeriida > Diapsida > Archosauromorpha > Archosauria > Dinosauria (dinosaurs) > Saurischia > Theropoda (bipedal predatory dinosaurs) > Coelurosauria > Maniraptora > Aves (birds) > Musophagiformes

Species indigenous to southern Africa

Tauraco corythaix (Knysna turaco, Knysna lourie) 

The Knysna turaco is endemic to South Africa and Swaziland, with most of its population concentrated in coastal Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, occurring in Afromontane forest and riverine forest in fynbos. It feeds mainly on fruit, with seeds and invertebrates making up the rest of its diet. The nest is built by both sexes, and is a flimsy platform of twigs, placed in thick tangles of leaves. It lays 1-2 eggs, which are incubated by both sexes, for 20-24 days. The chicks stay in the nest for about 22 days, after which they clamber around the surrounding branches. They attempt their first flight at about 28 days old, becoming independent a few week after this.

Tauraco livingstonii (Livingstone's turaco) 

Tauraco schalowi (Schalow's turaco) 

Gallirex porphyreolophus (Purple-crested turaco, Purple-crested lourie) 

The Purple-crested turaco occurs from Uganda through Tanzania to the eastern half of southern Africa, where it is locally common in closed woodland and coastal forest. It eats almost exclusively fruit, foraging in tree canopies, perching at the end of branches to pick the fruit directly. The nest is built by both sexes, with one collecting sticks and handing them to other, who adds it to the nest. It lays 2-4 eggs, which are incubated by both sexes, for 21-23 days. The chicks leave the nest before they can fly, at about 21 days old, but at about  38 days old, they make they're first flight.

Corythaixoides concolor (Grey go-away-bird, Grey Loerie) 

The Grey go-away-bird occurs from coastal Angola through to southern Africa, where it is common in dry savanna and suburban gardens. It eats mainly plant products, such as fruit, flowers, leaves and buds, but it may also eat small invertebrates. The nest is a flat, flimsy platform, made of interlaced twigs, normally placed in a thorny tree. It lays 1-4, usually 2-3 eggs which are incubated by both sexes, for 26-29 days. The chicks stay in the nest for 18-21 days, leaving before they can fly. At roughly 33 days old, the chicks can feed for themselves, and at roughly 35 days they can fly, becoming fully independent at about 41 days old.

Musophaga rossae (Ross's turaco, Ross's lourie)