Violet Turaco

Musophagiformes

This 17 inch bird has silky plumage with main body and tail color purple and red on top of the head and on lower edges of the wings.  Its heavy bill is yellow with orange at the tip.  The violet turaco is native to western Africa from Gambia and Senegal east to Cameroon and prefers open woodland, riverine forest, humid forest edges and rarely ventures above altitudes of 1000 meters.  Their diet consists of fruit (especially figs), snails and insects.

They are shy perching birds preferring to stay out of sight in the dense canopy of tall trees.  Their nests are shallow and the clutch usually consists of two nearly spherical white eggs with incubation of 21-24 days.  The nestling period is about 4 weeks and it takes the young almost a year to develop full coloration.  These birds have been called plaintain, or banana, eaters but turacos in the wild eat these fruits rarely or not at all.