Bare-faced go-away-bird

The bare-faced go-away-bird (Crinifer personatus) is a species of bird in the family Musophagidae which is native to the eastern Afrotropics. It is named for its distinctive and uniquely bare, black face.

Bare-faced go-away-bird
C. p. leopoldi in Akagera N. P., Rwanda
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Musophagiformes
Family: Musophagidae
Genus: Crinifer
Species:
C. personatus
Binomial name
Crinifer personatus
(Rüppell, 1842)

Taxonomy

The bare-faced go-away-bird was described in 1842 by the German naturalist Eduard Rüppell based on a specimen collected in Abyssinia (Ethiopia). He coined the binomial name Chizærhis personata.[2][3] The specific epithet is from Latin personatus meaning "masked" (from persona meaning "mask").[4] The bare-faced go-away-bird was formerly placed in the genus Corythaixoides but based on a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2020, it was moved to the genus Crinifer.[5][6]

Two geographically isolated races are recognised:[6]

Description: More extensive green breast plumage, underside of wings and tail greenish, face with minute brown plumes[7]
  • C. p. leopoldi (Shelley, 1881) – south Uganda, southwest Kenya and Tanzania to Malawi and Zambia
Description: Face bare and black, less extensive green breast plumage[7]

Description
C. p. leopoldi in Kenya

The sexes are similar, other than the female's green beak.[8] It is 48 cm (19 in) long beak to tail, and weighs approximately 210 to 300 grams.[9] Its call is a double or repetitive kow-kow.[7]

Distribution and habitat

The bare-faced go-away-bird is found in two disjunct areas in Africa: one in Ethiopia, and the other in Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.[10] It occurs in open woodland, thickets and in cultivation with scattered trees. It may be found at altitudes of up to 1,400 metres, but at Loita up to 2,200 metres in scattered cedar, acacia and evergreen scrub.[11]

Behaviour and ecology

The bare-faced go-away-bird is a noisy and restless species, that moves about singly or in groups.[7]

Food and feeding

These birds primarily eat fruits, leaf buds, and seeds.[12]

Breeding

Like other Turacos, the bare-faced go-away-bird lays two to three greenish-white eggs each mating season. Nests are often built in tall acacia trees.[13]

References
  1. BirdLife International. (2016). "Corythaixoides personatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22725405A94891690. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22725405A94891690.en. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  2. Rüppell, Eduard (1842). "Memoir on the family Touracoos". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 10 (108): 8–9.
  3. Peters, James Lee, ed. (1940). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 4. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 11.
  4. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 299. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  5. Perktaş, U.; Groth, J.G.; Barrowclough, G.F. (2020). "Phylogeography, species limits, phylogeny, and classification of the turacos (Aves: Musophagidae) based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences". American Museum Novitates. 2020 (3949): 1–61. doi:10.1206/3949.1.
  6. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2023). "Turacos, bustards, cuckoos, mesites, sandgrouse". IOC World Bird List Version 13.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  7. Zimmerman, Dale A.; et al. (1999). Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania. Princeton University Press. p. 432. ISBN 0691010226.
  8. "Bare-faced Go-away Birds | Beauty of Birds". www.beautyofbirds.com. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
  9. Jones, David. "Bare-faced Go-away Bird". www.turacos.org. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
  10. bare-faced go-away bird at kenyabirds Archived May 29, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  11. Britton, P.L., ed. (1980). Birds of East Africa: 375. Corythaixoides personata (Rüppell) Bare-faced Go-away Bird KTU 441. Nairobi: EANHS. p. 74.
  12. Jones, David. "Bare-faced Go-away Bird". www.turacos.org. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
  13. "Bare-faced Go-away Birds | Beauty of Birds". www.beautyofbirds.com. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
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