---
title: "Great Blue Turaco"
description: "Corythaeola cristata — Birds. The great blue turaco (Corythaeola cristata) is a bird species of the family Musophagidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/great-blue-turaco
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Great Blue Turaco

> Corythaeola cristata — Birds. The great blue turaco (Corythaeola cristata) is a bird species of the  family Musophagidae.

- Scientific name: *Corythaeola cristata*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest), `jungle` (Jungle)
- iNaturalist observations: 909
- Wikidata: [Q847182](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q847182)
- iNaturalist taxon: [7250](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/7250)

## Names

- en: Great Blue Turaco
- de: Riesenturako
- es: Turaco gigante
- fr: Touraco géant
- nl: Reuzentoerako
- pl: Szyszak

## Countries with the most observations

UG (430), GA (75), RW (39), KE (31), CG (29), CD (23), CM (23), CI (18), AO (17), GW (12), GH (10), SL (10)

## Summary

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.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_blue_turaco

## Photo

![Great Blue Turaco](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/great-blue-turaco/medium.jpg)

Photo: Ben Keen · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/200393231

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/great-blue-turaco?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).