Tauraco leucolophus
Silhouette: Lisa M. "Pixxl" (photo), John E. McCormack, Michael G. Harvey, Brant C. Faircloth, Nicholas G. Crawford, Travis C. Glenn, Robb T. Brumfield & T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The white-crested turaco (Tauraco leucolophus) is a bird in the family Musophagidae, a group of African otidimorph birds. The white-crested turaco is native to riverine forest and woodland in a belt between eastern Nigeria and western Kenya. It is a common species with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed it as being of "least concern".
The white-crested turaco was first described in 1855 by the German explorer and ornithologist Theodor von Heuglin. Genetic studies show that this species is closely related to the red-crested turaco (Tauraco erthrolophus) and Bannerman's turaco (Tauraco bannermanii), having diverged from them in the late Pliocene. At that time, climatic changes occurred which subsequently led to increasingly arid conditions, a decrease in forest cover and an increase in wooded savannah. The white-crested turaco maintained a widespread distribution, perhaps by adapting to new habitats, while Bannerman's turaco became restricted to montane habitats where the forest cover remained.
This distinctive bird has glossy, bluish-black upperparts which contrast markedly with its white crest, cheeks, neck... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kidepo Valley National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Pairi Daiza | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 3 | SeaWorld Abu Dhabi | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | |
| 4 | The Blue Planet | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 5 | La Reserva del Castillo de las Guardas | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Brevard Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Little Rock Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Biotropica | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | Vogelpark Avifauna | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 10 | Paphos Zoo | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | |
| 11 | Haus des Meeres | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 12 | Dallas World Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | The Green Planet | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | |
| 14 | Zooparque Itatiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-crested Turaco sighting in Murchison Falls National Park on a given day, based on 83 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 177th most-seen of the 424 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a White-crested Turaco in Murchison Falls National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May and November–March, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-crested Turaco sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate White-crested Turaco sightings, Murchison Falls National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Kidepo Valley National Park (Uganda, about 50%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-crested Turaco is recorded against all the birds logged in Murchison Falls National Park (83 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
