Grey Go-away-bird (Corythaixoides concolor), Gilbert Water Ranch, Maricopa County

The Grey Go-Away Bird (Corythaixoides concolor) is a member of the turaco family. It is found in Southern Africa and is one of the least colorful turaco’s, many of which are as colorful as parrots. The Grey Go-Away is named for its call and it is a very social bird, often living in groups of up to 30 birds. It has a preference for open thornbush country, often near water. It eats fruit, leaves and insects. In captivity, it tends to prefer grains and leaves rather than fruit.

How this bird got to the Gilbert Water Ranch is a complete mystery. It seems in good plumage and health and is not banded. It is illegal to export Grey Go-Aways from Africa and therefore illegal to import them into the United States. They are extremely rare in captivity anywhere in the world and they are not as popular with breeders as the more colorful turacos. This species is often confused with both the White-bellied Go-Away Bird (Corythaixoides leucogaster) and the Western Gray Plantain-eater (Crinifer piscator), both of which are more common in captivity and can be legally imported. A few US zoos have Grey Go-Away Birds, such as the San Diego and Cinncinati Zoo. The local World Wildlife Zoo in Glendale has a small flock in their African Aviary, but according to the director, all are apparently accounted for. Contacts with local, national and international turaco breeders and societies (e.g, the International Turaco Society) have found no known birds in captivity locally. This bird is so rare in captivity that most people contacted insisted that we had misidentified the bird. Fortunately, Brendon Grice’s spectacular photos were all it took to convince people that the bird is indeed a Grey Go-Away.

The Gilbert bird was first discovered by Lyle Hamilton on 13 July 2007. The bird is conspicuous and calls almost constantly, probably trying to locate the rest of its flock. Anyone who might know something about the origin of this bird is encouraged to contact, Michael Moore at Michael.moore AT asu.edu.

In late February 2008, this bird (identified by a broken tail feather) moved 12 miles away to Tempe near the ASU campus.  More details here.

26 July 2007 photos by Brendon Grice

Listen to the Go-away-bird

Sound recording by Pierre Deviche