Bannerman's turaco facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bannerman's turaco |
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Tauraco
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| Species: |
bannermani
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The Bannerman's turaco (scientific name: Tauraco bannermani) is a beautiful bird that lives only in the country of Cameroon in Africa. It's part of a bird family called Musophagidae, which includes other colorful turacos. In French, people call it touraco de Bannerman or touraco doré, meaning "golden turaco." This bird is named after a famous bird expert, David Armitage Bannerman. Sadly, the Bannerman's turaco is an endangered species, mainly because its home, the montane forests, is being destroyed.
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About the Bannerman's Turaco
Who Discovered This Bird?
The Bannerman's turaco was first officially described in 1923. An American scientist named George Latimer Bates was the one who first wrote about it. Scientists have studied its DNA to learn more about its family. They found that it's closely related to the red-crested turaco and the white-crested turaco. These birds started to become different species a long time ago, during a period called the late Pliocene.
Back then, the climate changed a lot. It became drier, and many forests disappeared, turning into grassy savannah. While some turacos adapted to these new areas, the Bannerman's turaco stayed in the cooler, wetter mountain forests where trees still grew.
What Does It Look Like?
The Bannerman's turaco is about 43 cm (17 in) long, which is about the size of a large pigeon. It has a grey head and a bright orange-red crown and crest on top of its head. Its back is a dark green, and its belly is a lighter green. It also has a pretty blue tail.
When it flies, you can see bright red patches under its wings. This bird is quite shy, so it's not often seen. However, you can often hear it! It makes a loud, harsh sound like "kow-kow-kow" that can be heard from far away.
Where Does It Live?
This special bird lives only in the forested mountains of Cameroon. Most of them are found in the Bamenda Highlands in western Cameroon. Some also live in the Massif du Mbam. They prefer to live in montane forests, which are forests found in mountains. They can live in old, untouched forests or in forests that have grown back, as long as there are plenty of tall trees. These trees provide the fruits that the turacos love to eat. You can find them at heights between 2,200 and 2,600 m (7,200 and 8,500 ft) above sea level.
Why Is It Endangered?
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is a group that keeps track of endangered animals. They believe there are only about 2,500 to 10,000 Bannerman's turacos left. Their numbers are going down.
The biggest problem for these birds is that their home, the forest, is disappearing. This happens because of wildfires, and because people cut down trees for farming, grazing animals, getting wood, and collecting firewood. These birds don't like to cross open, cleared areas, so they get stuck in small patches of forest.
People also hunt these birds for their beautiful feathers. The feathers are sometimes used in special ceremonies by local villagers. Because of all these threats, the IUCN has listed the Bannerman's turaco as an "endangered species". This means it's at a very high risk of disappearing forever if we don't protect it.
Images for kids
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Map showing where the Bannerman's turaco lives.
