The Knysna Turaco is a long-tailed bulky bird that is considered one of South Africa’s prettiest birds
due to its true green and red feathers.
These striking birds can only be found in a select few places in South Western South Africa,
and owing to their green plumage can be quite hard to spot, not only to humans but also predators.
To those who get the chance of spotting one, the experience though hard it may be is worth it.
And to those planning on visiting South Africa or are wild bird enthusiasts,
then lets get to know some facts about the Knysna Turaco.
In South Africa, the Knysna Turaco is also called the Knysna Lourie.
This bird belongs to the Turaco family of birds and is considered a large Turaco species.
The Knysna Turaco is endemic to South Africa and Swaziland in riverine forests, Afromontane forests and fynbos.
In South Africa, they can be found in the provinces of Kwa Zulu Natal and the Eastern Cape.
They are residents in the location they can be found in and are non-migratory.
Bird spotters looking for the birds can start in forested areas like
Tsitsikamma, Knysna in the Garden Route, Amathole Mountains, and Hogsback.
In these mature forests, they can be seen flying in quick short bursts from tree to tree,
and are extremely active during the day.
The best time to spot them in these forests is from September to February during summer
which is also the birds breeding season, as this is when the birds are more vocal and visible.
Turacos are special in that they have two copper pigments in their
feathers that are not found in any other animal on Earth.
The vibrant green comes from a pigment called ‘turacoverdin.’
Other than this green pigment,
they also have ‘turacin’ which is a red and copper pigment that is responsible for their vibrant red colours.
The birds are quite unique, with their brilliant green and red feathers and long tails.
The birds have a length of between 40 and 42 cm (15.7 and 16.5 in) from beak to tail.
Fully grown adults weigh between 280 and 380 gms ( 9.8 and 13.4 oz.).
They have a small thick bill that is orange-red in colour, and a tall green crest tipped with white.
Their crest is rounded and not pointed like the similarly coloured Livingstone’s Turaco.
The eye is brown and is surrounded by a red ring and two white stripes, one running under the eye
and the other In front of the eye with a black stripe between these two white lines and in front of the eye.
The long and heavy tail is green, with dark green coverts
while the primary wings are a bright red and are usually visible during flight.
There isn’t much differentiating between males and females as they are similar in appearance.
Juveniles on the other hand look like the adults but they have a shorter crest without the white tips.
If you can’t spot one by sight,
then be on the lookout for their loud cries which is used both as a form of communication
and also as a way to defend their territories from rivals.
The calls can be described as both beautiful and haunting and grating.
These calls are loud and sound like, “ kow-kow-kow-kow”.
Their primary source of food is fruits and berries,
thus they can be classified as frugivores but will supplement this diet with seeds,
earthworms, leaves and insects.
These birds are well adapted to foraging in the trees,
and you’ll spot them hopping from branch to branch in search of fruits.
The birds digestive system is also adapted to dealing with toxic compounds found in some of the fruits they eat.
This allows them to eat from a wide variety of fruits and berries than other frugivorous birds.
Some of the recorded fruits consumed include common poison bush, fynbos star berry, red star apple,
wild figs, cross berry, white Millwood, African almond and wild grapes.
The Knysna Turaco have true red and green pigments
which means they blend in beautifully with their leafy green surroundings.
They thus use their red colours when trying to evade predators.
When predators are chasing prey, they tend to focus on colours that are most conspicuous.
When being chased by predators they will flash their red primary wings to attract predators
then they fold these feathers to confuse and hopefully evade the predators.
They are hunted by the black sparrowhawk and African goshawk.
During the breeding season,
the female usually lays two eggs in a shallow nest above the ground in the canopies made of sticks.
The parents take turns incubating the eggs which take about 20-24 days before they hatch.
The chicks are born helpless, with thick down and nearly open eyes, and stay in the nest for 22 days.
When they start adventuring outside the nest, the chicks have claws on their wings to help them climb trees
and crawl through vegetation as their wings aren’t well-formed yet.
After 28 days they start flying and will the nest after 3 weeks after learning how to fly.
The Knysna juveniles take about a year before getting their adult plumage.
They are believed to possess supernatural powers by the locals.
The Turacos are held in high regard by the local communities and particularly the Zulu.
This may be due in part to their beautiful and vibrantly coloured feathers which are a sight to behold.
Among the Zulu, the Green Turaco and other Turacos were said to have been the chosen symbol of the king.
Their colourful feathers were to be worn by the king and no one else.
The birds are also believed to have some supernatural powers
with some cultures associating the bird with good luck, fertility, and wealth.
Some also associate the birds with the ability to communicate with the deceased
and is usually associated with the afterlife and death.
The bird is also the chosen symbol for the Garden Route,
featured in many artworks and literature of the region for decades.
According to the IUCN, the Knysna Turaco is considered as near threatened,
which is a downgrade to its status, as it was considered of least concern.
Many forests in South Africa are in decline due to deforestation for logging, agriculture and urbanization.
This leads to habitat destruction and a reduction in the amount of food available for the birds.
Also due to the birds beauty and rarity, they are a good candidate for illegal bird traders
who capture the birds and trade them as pets on the black market.
