Next cousins

 

- So we are cousins then, my dear Sir Bustard...
- Humpf, I don´t think so, you cuckoo clock trash!

So a 2014 genetic study shows that bustards are more related to cuckoos and turacos than to cranes and other gruids?! HA HA HA. But sure, it does make sense in some really bizarre way. Come to think of it, the bustard does look like a truly monstrous cuckoo. 

The falcons have already been outed as closer to passerines than to other raptors. Sure wonder what other surprises awaits us out there...

Otidimorphae

These birds don´t need a closer introduction

This is volume 4 of the truly Brobdingnagian "mother of all birdbooks", the Handbook of the Birds of the World. Known as the HBW for short, this 16-volume work took almost 20 years to publish, and apparently a supplement which is still waiting in the wings (pun intended). The total price of the entire series is about 4,200 dollars!

Obviously, the HBW is mostly intended for well-funded libraries and research institutions. In contrast to regular reference works, however, the HBW contains a lot of truly spectacular photos (all of them in color), plus illustrations of all described species (also in color). I'm not sure if this combination of commercial appeal and super-scientific contents makes any kind of sense, but clearly *somebody* is buying it, since the editors were allowed to finish their work. As we speak, they are busy preparing a Handbook of the Mammals of the World!

This particular volume of the HBW covers the following orders: Sandgrouse, Pigeons and Doves, Cockatoos and Parrots, Turacos and Cuckoos. With the possible exception of the Sandgrouse, these birds hardly need a closer introduction.

As usual, the HBW deserves five stars, although I must once again warn the general reader about the non-popularized character of this work and the exorbitant price. However, if you have an advanced interest in birds (and a lot of money!) don't worry, you won't feel cuckolded if you really do buy one of these...

A spectacular book about spectacular birds

A review of "Turacos: A Natural History of the Musophagidae" 

Turacos are a group of mysterious birds in sub-Saharan Africa. Today, some turacos live in urban parks, and you may even see some of them in Europe, if you're really lucky - they sometimes escape from captivity! Still, the natural habits of many species are relatively unknown, hardly surprising since many of them live in the rain forests of the Congo. Their exact relationship to other birds is also a matter of some dispute. Are they related to the pidgeons, gamebirds or trogons?

Some see a connection between turacos and the even more mysterious Hoatzin of South America, a bird that looks like a missing link between birds and God knows what. But the most common theory is, somewhat surprisingly, that the turacos are closely related to the cuckoos! In this book, the author takes the easiest possible escape-route, and declares the independence of the turacos from all other birds. He places them in an order of their own, Musophagiformes.

The most well-known mystery surrounding these spectacular birds is their pigmentation. For some unknown reason, the plumage of the turacos contain two pigments not found in any other animal, turacin and turacoverdin. According to urban legend, turacin washes away in rain, making turacos loose their bright colors after heavy rainfalls. Even some nature books claim this. However, Joseph Forshaw points out that this simply isn't true, it's a myth. He even quotes another ornithologist who was wearing a turaco feather in his hat for years, without it ever fading. Rather, the red feather actually got darker, when the copper pigment (turacin contains copper) started to rust! Still, the reason why evolution has endowed this particular kind of birds with a unique pigment remains an enigma.

The book "Turacos" was published in 2002. It contains a general chapter on the Musophagiformes, a chapter on turacos in aviculture, and detailed information about all 23 turaco species. Each species presentation contains sections on Habitat and Status, Movements, Habits, Calls, Feeding, Breeding and Eggs. There are range maps for every species, and both males, females and fledglings are described. Above all, the book contains 23 exquisite and large color plates by the bird painter William Cooper. They are works of art in themselves. (The book cover on this product page gives a pretty good idea of how the color illustrations look like.) There are also smaller, black-and-white drawings of turacos in various situations.

Please note that the information in this book is *very* detailed. This is not a book for the general reader, unless you love bird art or have an obsession with tropical birds. It's also extremely expensive! I bought my copy from a competitor of Amazon, but that wasn't cheap either. The book is mostly intended for ornithologists. Perhaps breeders of turacos might appreciate having it in their private library. Personally, I bought it because, frankly, I like well-produced books!

This one is.