Birdorable White-cheeked Turaco

Today's new Birdorable Bonanza bird is a pretty bird from Africa: the White-cheeked Turaco!

White-cheeked Turacos are beautiful birds in the Musophagidae ("banana eater") family. Turacos are gregarious and social birds that live in family groups of around 10 birds.

The underside of the White-cheeked Turaco's wings are crimson red. This, along with their green feathers, makes their plumage special in the avian world. Most green plumage in birds is the result of a yellow pigment combined with the physical structure of the feather (the way they reflect light) -- they only appear green but are not truly green. Turacos have the only truly green pigment known in birds. The red underwings have a similar story: turacos are the only birds to have the true red pigment turacin.

Although they are from eastern central Africa, colorful turacos are common in captivity and can be viewed in zoos all over the world. The White-cheeked Turaco is found in aviaries at the Toronto Zoo, the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, Folly Farm in the U.K., and others.


Photo by Ozzy Delaney (CC BY 2.0)

Tomorrow's new bird is a large species of North American wood warbler, named for the shape of its nest. Can you guess the species?

Crazily crested cutie

One of our newest Birdorable birds is the Great Blue Turaco. This species is the largest bird in the turaco family. Like most turacos, the Great Blue has a head crest. And what a crest it is! Thick and dark, the crest, along with the striking red-dipped yellow bill, makes this bird a total knockout!!

Birdorable Great Blue Turaco

A non-threatened species across its range of central Africa, Great Blue Turacos feed on fruit, leaves and flowers. In some parts of Africa they are hunted for meat and for their beautiful feathers. These beautiful birds are rarely found in captivity. The San Diego Zoo has one in their collection, which happens to be the largest collection of bird species in the whole United States. The zoo in Antwerp also has a pair. Here is a short video from Antwerp.

Like all of our cute Birdorable birds, our Great Blue Turaco illustration is available on a wide variety of apparel options and novelty gift items. Pictured here are two t-shirt styles; visit the Great Blue Turaco product page in our shop for more gift ideas.