Well the title says it all, I'm really into birds and have always had a soft spot for Turaco's. I visit the Cotswold Wildlife park quite a lot and love their collection of Turaco there and was wondering which zoos would the community here say have a good collection of Turaco?
Chester's got to be up there; by my reckoning they currently have: Violet Plantain-Eater Musophaga violacea White-bellied Go-away-bird Corythaixoides leucogaster Red-crested Turaco Tauraco erythrolophus Fischer's Turaco Tauraco fischeri White-crested Turaco Tauraco leucolophus White-cheeked Turaco Tauraco leucotis Schalow's Turaco Tauraco schalowi Good number of species and some nice oddities as well. Blackbrook's also worth a look - they have Purple-crested, White-crested and Great Blue Turacos and Lady Ross' Plaintain-Eater, among others.
Paradise Park Hayle also has Purple-crested,also pretty certain they have another 2 or 3 species at least as well.
What happened to the collection at Grangewood zoo, has it closed? They claimed to have the UK's largest collection of turaco
They did have a very nice collection (the owner was involved in the Turaco Society and was kind enough to supply me with a copy of the wonderful Turacos of the World poster they produced). It closed down a couple of years ago - I believe the owner relocated to Cyprus, and may have taken some of the collection with him (certainly that was his intention before closing as I recall).
Blackbrook: Livingstones Turaco White crested turaco Hartlaub's turaco Purple crested turaco Violet turaco Lady Ross' turaco Western grey plantain eater Great Blue turaco Bare faced go-away bird
Linton Zoo only has Lady Ross' Turaco i being a big cat person even find this species of bird interesting
Chester's White-bellied Go-away-birds are housed in the bird house. They are not labelled but are kept with the Congo Peafowl. As far as I remember the White-crested Turacos are in the Tropical Realm. The Violet Turacos are in the first aviary in the bird house (across from the porcupines). The Red-crested Turacos are in the bird house, their aviary is alongside the bird house kitchen opposite the shop, and the others are either in the pheasant aviaries on the picnic lawn by RoRA, or the bird house.
Thank you for all your help, it's all much appreciated. I'll check out these collections that you have mentioned when I get a chance
It's not in England, but Antwerps zoo has also a lot of turaco species. I think it must be close to ten.
I believe the Schalow's have now been moved to the African Aviary. The Fischers are housed with the Malay Crestless Firebacks on the picinc lawn The Violet Plantain-Eaters are in the Tropical Realm, free-flying. The White-Cheeked's im not too sure about, I actually visited today and remember seeing them but i dont remember where. At a guess id say the bird house.
currently at bristol we have a pair of red crested turaco's, a fischers turaco and a violaceous turaco. really nice birds!
This is a list of turaco held at Grangewood zoo in 2002, at the time the largest collection of turaco in the UK, it is lifted from the winter 2002 edition of zoo magazine. white bellied go away bird bare faced go away bird western grey plantain eater Lady Ross's turaco violaceous turaco Buffon's turaco Fischers's turaco Livingstone's turaco green turaco Schalow's turaco red crested turaco Hartlaub's turaco white cheeked turaco purple crested turaco black billed turaco 15 species and sub species in all. The bare faced go away bird was the only one of its type in the UK at the time. In the same article there is a mention of Raymond Sawyer's world famous collection at Cobham, Surrey, where the UK's first captive bred violaceous turaco was hatched in 1984.
