Tauraco Explained

Tauraco is a genus of turacos. It contains the "typical" or green turacos; though their plumage is not always green all over, the presence of significant amounts of turacoverdin-colored plumage generally sets Tauraco species apart from other Musophagidae. Indeed, as opposed to any other known birds, Tauraco turacos are the only living bird taxa that have any significant green pigment whatsoever, as the greens of many parrots etc. are due to structural color, not pigment. Their genus name was derived from a native West African name.^[1]

Taxonomy

The genus Tauraco was introduced in 1779 by the Polish naturalist Jan Krzysztof Kluk.^[2] The type species was later designated as the Guinea turaco.^[3]

Species

The genus contains 13 species.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Book: Carnaby . Trevor . Beat about the bush: Birds . 2008 . Jacana . Johannesburg . 9781770092419 . 31 . 1st.
2. Book: Kluk, Krzysztofa . Jan Krzysztof Kluk . 1779 . Zwierzat domowych i dzikich, osobliwie kraiowych. Historyi naturalney poczatki i gospodarstwo. Tom. II. Z figurami. O ptastwie . Polish . Warsaw . Drukarni J. K. Mości i Rzeczypospolitey u XX. Scholarum Piarum . 25 .
3. Book: Peters . James Lee . James L. Peters . 1940 . Check-List of Birds of the World . 4 . Harvard University Press . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 3 .
4. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela Rasmussen . July 2021 . Turacos, bustards, cuckoos, mesites, sandgrouse . IOC World Bird List Version 11.2 . International Ornithologists' Union . 3 July 2021 .