[MikeB.]

Hi there,

Took these photos last Sunday in remote northern Angola, of what I think, may be a Schalow's Lourie.

I'm sorry the photos are so terrible - it was truly far away and I could not get closer (risk of anti-personnel mines). I cropped them out of photos taken with my Canon 1Ds with 400mm + 1.4x converter. It has a remarkable crest, perhaps 4 inches high, and the body stayed stock still while he had a look around, then was gone. See occasionally Ross's turacos in the same area.

It's not a Verreaux's turaco is it?

Any ideas would be gratefully received.

Mike
(One of the ideas is to get a longer lens of course - working on that one)

[Rasmus Boegh]

With such rarely photographed species I doubt anybody will compain about the quality! Anyway, there's only one green and strikingly crested Turaco in Angola, and that is Schalow's Turaco (or Lourie). Verreaux's has a much smaller, rounded crest. It also has a strikingly yellow bill (hence the alternative English name; Yellow-billed Turaco), which I presume we would have been able to hint - even if the photo is somewhat distant. Verreaux's also have bluish-purple wings, meaning that they constrast with the green body. In the individual on these photos the contrast is limited (and the wings certainly are green rather than bluish-purple) fitting much better with Schalow's.

[cuckooroller]

Mike,
I'm just not qualified to help on this one. I would love to see any photo of either race of Yellow-billed Turaco - just have never seen any, and only a couple of the Schalow's.