Corythaeola cristata
Silhouette: Kai Caspar · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The great blue turaco (Corythaeola cristata) is a bird species of the family Musophagidae. At 70–76 cm (28–30 in) in length, it is the largest species of turaco. It has predominantly grey-blue plumage with an upright blue-black crest around 10 cm (3.9 in) high. The male and female have similar plumage. It is widespread throughout the African tropical rainforest.
French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot described the great blue turaco as Musophaga cristata in 1816, before German ornithologist Ferdinand Heine placed it in its own genus in 1860. The great blue turaco is the sole member of the subfamily Corythaeolinae within the turaco family. Its closest relatives are the go-away birds and plantain eaters of the genus Crinifer. The common ancestor of both diverged from the ancestor of all other turaco species.
"Great blue turaco" has been designated the official common name by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC). It is also called the blue plantain eater. The species ranges from Guinea in the west, and east across the sub-Saharan nations to the Imatong Mountains in South Sudan; it also occurs in Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and western... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Taï National Park | 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast | |
| 3 | Semuliki National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 4 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 5 | Nyungwe National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 6 | Odzala-Kokoua National Park | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo | |
| 7 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 8 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 9 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 10 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disney's Animal Kingdom | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Busch Gardens Tampa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | SeaWorld San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Zlín-Lešná Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 6 | Zoo Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Bronx Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Nashville Zoo at Grassmere | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Sedgwick County Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Woodland Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Moody Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Houston Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | San Antonio Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Emirates Park Zoo | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | |
| 16 | Philadelphia Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 17 | Attica Zoological Park | 🇬🇷 Greece | |
| 18 | Bird Paradise | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 19 | Rainforest Wild Asia | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 20 | Turtle Back Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 21 | Vogelpark Avifauna | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 22 | Inokashira Park Zoo | 🇯🇵 Japan |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Great Blue Turaco sighting in Virunga National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 301st most-seen of the 316 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Great Blue Turaco in Virunga National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May to March, the lowest months. That is one of Virunga National Park's wettest months, with about 240 mm of rain against 15 mm in January.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Great Blue Turaco sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
9th of 10
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Great Blue Turaco sightings, Virunga National Park ranks 9th at under 5%. The best odds are in Kibale National Park (Uganda, about 60%), Taï National Park (Ivory Coast, about 50%) and Semuliki National Park (Uganda, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Musophagidae
The closest relatives of the Great Blue Turaco that you can see in Virunga National Park (family Musophagidae, Turacos) are Ruwenzori Turaco (about 20%), Ross' Turaco (about 10%) and Eastern Grey Plantain-eater (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Great Blue Turaco is recorded against all the birds logged in Virunga National Park (6 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.
