White-cheeked Turaco - BirdForum Opus

Subspecies leucotis
Photo by Andrew S
Wondo Genet, Ethiopia, December 2004

Menelikornis leucotis

Tauraco leucotis

Identification

42-43cm (16½-17 in)

• Dark steel blue crest
• Orange bill
• Broad white cheek
• Deep green body
• Orange eye ring

Distribution

Eastern Africa: found in South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Subspecies donaldsoni
Photo by volker sthamer
E. Ethiopia, February 2016

There are 2 subspecies^[1]:

• M. l. leucotis:

• Podocarpus forests of Eritrea, Ethiopia and eastern South Sudan

• M. l. donaldsoni:

• South-central Ethiopia south of Rift Valley and extreme western Somalia

Habitat

Mountain forests and connected well wooded streams.

Behaviour

Diet

Their main diet consists of the fruit and berries of plum pine and juniper trees.

Breeding

A twiggy nest is built in trees. The 2 eggs are incubated for 22-23 days. The young fledge after a further 25-26 days.

References

1. Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. turacos.org
4. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved August 2016)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) White-cheeked Turaco. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 4 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White-cheeked_Turaco

External Links

Search for photos of White-cheeked Turaco in the gallery