Watch the birdie......
Any twitchers out there? We have a pair of white cheeked Turicos visiting our garden everyday, eating the remaining apples on the trees. Anyone know anything about them? I looked them up online, we thought they might be from the Bustard family but Turicos they are.
it’s a grin, honest!
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Have you spelt this right, I Googled it and it had pictures of loads of daft creatures but no birdies!!
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Ooops! Should be white cheeked turaco, I went for an ‘I’ rather than an a! They’re certainly a colourful bird, I was wondering has anyone else seen some? The web says they don’t like to fly but spend their time on foot, I have seen them fly between our fruit trees but Africa is a long way for a bird that doesn’t like flying?
it’s a grin, honest!
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Nope, never seen one. They are supposed to be found in Eritrea, Ethiopia, and South Sudan although they are a common captive bird so perhaps the one you have seen has gone missing from somewhere. I should knit a little at and scarf for it a it will probably be cold over here!
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I was just watching the pair of them in next doors garden, the grass is long there, they’re eating the fallen apples. They don’t seem to be going far, it’s coming up for a week now that they’ve been hanging around. Haven’t heard anything locally about escaped birds?
it’s a grin, honest!
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What part of the country are you in?
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There's nothing on the twitchers rare bird alerts at the mo, so it's probably an escapee, but I'll ask my OH when he gets back from shopping, he'll be able to check. They are only very occasionally seen in the UK, but I haven't been able to find out whether past sightings were escapees or blown across in bad weather.
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Hi @Airwave! , my OH has checked his twitchers’ sites, and nothing has been reported. Of the turaco family, these ones are the most common to be kept in captivity as “pets”. So the most likely explanation is that they are escapees. They have been seen (but rarely) in the south of England in various locations over recent years, and seem to be able to survive here, but it’s unknown whether there is a breeding population. I agree, it’s unlikely they flew here from Ethiopia, and they’re not migratory so it’s even less likely they got blown off course.
Very pretty though, they look like pigeons dressed up for Mardi Gras!
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Well they upset the local blackbirds, magpies and even our local terrorist the robin was standing his ground with them, just wait till the seagulls get involved! The apples will last another week or so after that they’re on hard rations.
Very pretty? I’ve been trying to get a picture of them flying, they have a red dart on their wings, do you think they’d co operate? Not at all!
it’s a grin, honest!
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I looked out of the upstairs window this morning and sure enough the magpies (our local mafia) were in the tree in force and the Turacos were feeding on the apples still on the trees. The blackbird was vocal but standing back......😂.
it’s a grin, honest!
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Magpies are buggers for seeing off the opposition. Glad the turacos are standing their ground. You’re so lucky, what a lovely sight on your garden
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Wow, what a beautiful looking bird
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Haven’t seen them today, the apples are getting scarce, might throw some on the lawn?
it’s a grin, honest!
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Always worth a try
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