Abstract
Spring is here, and it's time to start planning to attend the APA convention in Portland this summer. Delightfully, the Fischer's turaco is this year's highlighted bird. turacos (also known as touracos, plantain-eaters, louries, and go-away birds) are an amazing order of African softbilled birds, and the Fischer's turaco is a rare, but coveted, avicultural aviary bird. Their order, Musophagiformes, is closely related to the cuckoos.
Fischer's turacos (Tauraco fischeri), also known as East African red-crested louries, are beautiful, shy fruit eaters, about the size of small chickens. Their basic green and dark bluish colors help them blend into the foliage of their forest habitat, with only the flash of bright red flight feathers giving them away as they fly from tree to tree. When viewed in the sunlight, their heads look like they are on fire due to the red on their crests and napes. Delicate white eye-stripes and red orbital skins adorn their faces. They can be easily distinguished from the more commonly kept Red-crested turaco by the lack of a white face.
Fischer's turacos are one of the green turacos, and are closely related to Green/Persa and Livingstone's turaco species. All the green turacos have unique copper-based pigments in their plumage. Turacoverdin creates the green coloration on the body and the water-soluble turacin creates the bright red color of the flight feathers.
The Fischer's turaco is common in its limited native range of east Africa, but is more often heard than seen, especially because this species travels by itself or in pairs, thus making it easy to miss. Their vocalizations include a series of barking calls, as well as a variety of grunts and growls. There are two races, and the island-bound T. f zanzibaricus is the only turaco to be found off of the mainland of Africa.
The Fischer's species is listed on CITES II and is no longer able to be imported, so the individuals that are in the USA now are what aviculturists have to work with. While no softbill species or group can be called common, turacos are some of the most popular softbills held in private and zoological institutions. However, Fischer's turacos are very rare in the USA with currently fewer than 15 individual birds total. The species has never been plentiful here, and the few people who have been lucky enough to work with them have not found them to be easy breeders. Just locating and acquiring the appropriate genders to pair up makes breeding Fischer's turacos difficult. Despite this, there have been successes. Sid Milne first bred the species in 1991 in the USA, and sporadic breedings in various aviaries have occurred since.