Citizendia

Turacos and relatives
Knysna Turaco, Tauraco corythaix
Knysna Turaco, Tauraco corythaix
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Subclass:Neornithes
Infraclass:Neognathae
Superorder:Neoaves
Order:Cuculiformes (and see text)
Family:Musophagidae
Genera
Synonyms

Apopempsidae
Musophagiformes (see text)
Veflintornithidae

The turacos, plantain-eaters and go-away-birds make up the bird family Musophagidae (literally "banana-eaters"). The Knysna Turaco, or in South Africa, Knysna Lourie, Tauraco corythaix, is a large Turaco, one of a group of African Near-passerine Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. Modern birds (subclass Neornithes) are the members of class Aves that have survived into recent times and have coexisted with Humans Modern birds are Neognaths ( Neognathae) are Birds within the Subclass Neornithes of the class Aves. Neognaths ( Neognathae) are Birds within the Subclass Neornithes of the class Aves. The Near passerine Bird order Cuculiformes traditionally included three families as below Musophagidae - turacos and allies A genus (plural genera from Γένος Latin genus "descent family type gender" is a low-level Taxonomic The Great Blue Turaco, Corythaeola cristata, is a Turaco, a group of African Near-passerines It is the largest turaco generally ranging UserPolbot. -->The Go-away-birds, Corythaixoides, are a genus of Bird in the Turaco UserPolbot. --> Musophaga is a genus of Bird in the Musophagidae family UserPolbot. -->The Ruwenzori Turaco ( Ruwenzorornis johnstoni) is a species of Bird in the Musophagidae Tauraco is a genus of Turacos It contains the "typical" or green turacos; though their plumage is not always green all over the presence In Scientific nomenclature, synonyms are different Scientific names used for a single Taxon. The plantain is a crop in the genus Musa and is generally used for cooking in contrast to the soft sweet Banana (which is sometimes called the Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. In southern Africa both turacos and go-away-birds are commonly known as louries. They are semi-zygodactylous - the fourth (outer) toe can be switched back and forth. In Biology, dactyly is the arrangement of digits ( Fingers and Toes on the Hands feet, or sometimes Wings of a The second and third toes, which always point forward, are conjoined in some species. Musophagidae often have prominent crests and long tails; the turacos are noted for peculiar and quite unique pigments giving them their bright green and red feathers. For the drug referred to as "pigment" see Black tar heroin.

Traditionally, this group has been allied with the cuckoos in the order Cuculiformes, but the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy raises this group to a full order Musophagiformes. The cuckoos are a family Cuculidae, of Near passerine Birds The order Cuculiformes, in addition to the cuckoos also includes the This article is about the taxonomic rank for the sequence of species in a taxonomic list see Taxonomic order In scientific classification used The Near passerine Bird order Cuculiformes traditionally included three families as below Musophagidae - turacos and allies The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy is a radical bird Taxonomy proposed by Charles Sibley and Jon Edward Ahlquist. They have been proposed to link the mysterious Hoatzin to the other living birds[1] but this was later disputed[2]. The Hoatzin ( Opisthocomus hoazin) also known as the Hoactzin, Stinkbird, or Canje "Pheasant", is an unusual species

Contents

Ecology and behavior

Female White-bellied Go-away-bird, Corythaixoides leucogaster
Female White-bellied Go-away-bird, Corythaixoides leucogaster

Musophagidae are medium-sized arboreal birds endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, where thay live in forests, woodland and savanna. The White-bellied Go-away-bird, Corythaixoides leucogaster, is a widespread bird of Africa in the turaco family Endemism is the Ecological state of being unique to a place Endemic species are not naturally found elsewhere A forest is an area with a high density of Trees There are many definitions of a forest based on various criteria Ecologically a woodland is an area covered in trees differentiated from a Forest. A savanna or savannah is a Tropical or Subtropical Grassland or Woodland Ecosystem. Their flight is weak, but they run quickly through the tree canopy. They feed mostly on fruits and to a lesser extent on leaves, buds, and flowers, occasionally taking small insects, snails, and slugs Contrary to what the names might suggest, they generally do not eat bananas or plantains and indeed wild-living Musophagidae do not seem to use Musa as food at all. A flower, also known as a bloom or Blossom, is the reproductive structure found in Flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also Insects ( Class Insecta) are a major group of Arthropods and the most diverse group of Animals on the Earth with over a million described The word snail is a Common name that can be used for almost all members of the Molluscan class Gastropoda which have coiled shells in the Slug is a common non-scientific word which is often applied to any Gastropod mollusk whatsoever that has a very reduced shell a small internal shell Musa is one of three Genera in the family Musaceae; it includes Bananas and Plantains There are over 50 Species of The Musophagidae build large stick nests in trees, and lay 2 or 3 eggs. In most Birds and Reptiles an egg ( Latin ovum) is the Zygote, resulting from Fertilization of the Ovum.

Go-away-birds are noted for their piercing alarm calls, which alert other fauna to the presence of predators or hunters; their common name refers to this. In the field of Animal communication, an alarm signal is an Antipredator adaptation referring to various signals emitted by social Animals in response Fauna is all of the Animal life of any particular region or time Hunting is the practice of pursuing Animals for Food, Recreation, or Trade.

Coloration

The Go-away-birds and plantain-eaters are mainly grey and white. The turacos on the other hand are brightly coloured birds, usually blue, green or purple. The green color in turacos comes from turacoverdin, the only true green pigment in birds known to date. For the drug referred to as "pigment" see Black tar heroin. Other "greens" in bird colors result from a yellow pigment such as some carotenoid, combined with the prismatic physical structure of the feather itself which scatters the light in a particular way and giving a blue color. Carotenoids are organic Pigments that are naturally occurring in Chromoplasts of plants and some other photosynthetic Organisms Turaco wings contain the red pigment turacin, unlike in other birds where red color is due to carotenoids. Turacin is a red naturally occurring pigment that is 6% Copper complexed to Uroporphyrin 111 Both pigments are derived from porphyrins and only known from the Musophagidae at present, but especially the little-researched turacoverdin might have relatives in other birds. A porphyrin is a heterocyclic Macrocycle derived from four Pyrroline subunits interconnected via their α carbon atoms via Methine bridges (=CH-

Evolution and systematics

The fossil genus Veflintornis is known from the Middle Miocene of Grive-Saint-Alban (France). FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system. The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Langhian and Serravallian stages This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. It was established as Apopempsis by Pierce Brodkorb in 1971, but this is preoccupied by Schenkling's 1903 use of the name for some beetles. Pierce Brodkorb (born September 29, 1908 in Chicago, Illinois, died July 18, 1992 in Gainesville Florida) Beetles are the group of Insects with the largest number of known Species. "Apopempsis" africanus (Early Miocene of Kenya) might also belong there. [3]

Further fossil material of putative musophagids was found in Egypt as well as in Late Oligocene deposits at at Gaimersheim (Germany) and Middle Miocene deposits at Grive-Saint-Alban[4] and Vieux-Collonges (both France)[3]. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The Chattian (also known as Chickasawhayan or Late Oligocene) is the second and final of two stages of the Oligocene Epoch. Gaimersheim is a municipality in the district of Eichstätt, in Bavaria, Germany. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. While it is not entirely certain that these fossils indeed are of turacos, it nonetheless appears as if the family evolved in the Oligocene of central Europe or perhaps northern Africa, and later on shifted its distribution southwards. The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene period and extends from about 33 The climate of those European regions during the late Paleogene was not too dissimilar to that of (sub)tropical Africa today; the Saharan desert was not yet present and the distance across the Mediterranean was not much more than what it is today. Climate encompasses the temperatures humidity rainfall atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorogical factors in a given region over long periods of The Paleogene (alternatively Palaeogene) is a geologic period and system that began 65 The Sahara (الصحراء الكبرى aṣ-ṣaḥrā´ al-kubra, "The Great Desert" is the world's largest hot Desert and the world's second largest Thus such a move south may well have been a very slow and gradual shifting of a large and continuous range.

Great Blue TuracoCorythaeola cristata
Great Blue Turaco
Corythaeola cristata

The Early Eocene Promusophaga was initially believed to be the oldest record of the turacos; it was eventually reconsidered a distant relative of the ostrich and is now in the ratite family Lithornithidae. The Great Blue Turaco, Corythaeola cristata, is a Turaco, a group of African Near-passerines It is the largest turaco generally ranging The Ypresian is the first stage of the Eocene Epoch and usually corresponds to the Early Eocene subepoch though sometimes the Lutetian The Ostrich ( Struthio camelus) is a large Flightless bird native to Africa (and formerly the Middle East) A ratite is any of a diverse group of large Flightless birds of Gondwanan origin most of them now extinct Filholornis from the Late Eocene or Early Oligocene of France is occasionally considered a musophagid, but its relationships have always been disputed. It is not often considered a turaco anymore in more recent times and has been synonymized with the presumed gruiform Talantatos, though it is not certain whether this will become widely accepted[3]. The diverse order Gruiformes contains a considerable number of living and extinct Bird families with on first sight little in common

The living genera of Musophagidae, arranged in taxonomic sequence, are:

Footnotes

  1. ^ Hughes & Baker (1999)
  2. ^ Sorenson et al. Tauraco is a genus of Turacos It contains the "typical" or green turacos; though their plumage is not always green all over the presence UserPolbot. -->The Ruwenzori Turaco ( Ruwenzorornis johnstoni) is a species of Bird in the Musophagidae UserPolbot. --> Musophaga is a genus of Bird in the Musophagidae family UserPolbot. -->The Go-away-birds, Corythaixoides, are a genus of Bird in the Turaco The Great Blue Turaco, Corythaeola cristata, is a Turaco, a group of African Near-passerines It is the largest turaco generally ranging (2003)
  3. ^ a b c Mlíkovský (2002)
  4. ^ "TT 149", a proximal left and a distal right tibiotarsus of a bird similar in size to living Tauraco: Ballmann (1969)

References

External links

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