Prince Ruspoli's Turaco is known in the literature from two areas in southern Ethiopia, in juniper forests with dense evergreen undergrowth. One is at Arero and the other one is 80 kilometers north of Neghelli. Both localities are approximately 1800 meters (6000 ft) in elevation.
This Turaco was first introduced to science when Prince Ruspoli collected it in either 1892 or 1893. Since Prince Ruspoli, an Italian explorer, was killed in an "encounter with an elephant" in the Lake Abaya area and unfortunately did not leave any notes about his travels, the locality and date of collection of the first specimen remain unknown. His Collection was studied by T. Salvadori in 1896, who named the new turaco in honor of Prince Ruspoli. In subsequent years, several other explorers searched for the turaco. However, none were successful until the early 1940's when several specimens were obtained in the Arero forest. After that, the turaco was not reported again until recently, when several have been seen and four specimens have been collected at the locality north of Neghelli.
This turaco is considered to be an endangered species and is included in the "Red Book" of endangered animals of the world. However, recent sightings in juniper forests and especially in dry water courses which include figs, the rubiaceous tree, Adina, and undergrowth of acacia and Teclea shrubs, suggest that the species may be more common than thought.
There are no breeding records nor any recorded observations on the nesting activities of Prince Ruspoli's Turaco. Thus, its nest and eggs are unknown.
Ruspolis Turaco is now considered "Vulnerable" by Birdlife because recent surveys have found it to be fairly common. However with the widespread destruction of forest in southern Ethiopia, my guess is that we will soon see this species back on the "Endangered" list....
It is known from many localities, in fact it can be found in most forests in the area west and north of Negelle. I have tried with good succes to find it at several "unknown" localities in that area. On the road from Negelle to Kibre Mengist it can even be seen roadside - with some luck!
The best places for visitors with limited time are north of Negelle (e.g. at Genale River). On a normal birding route throgh Ethiopia it is best to see the Turaco here and not wait until the Arero area - since there has recently been some problems with the local authorities demanding "written permission" to visit this area. I have had problems with these authorities even with written permission, so there are perhaps others reasons for their hostility towards foreigners.
The local people are very friendly and the area is safe. The problem is that you may be ordered to leave the Arero area by police or military and imagine how frustrating it would be if one failed to see the Turaco for that reason!
There are high densities of Turacos at Arero, so it is always worth a stop and most people are allowed to visit - just don't count on it!
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English version
Carsten Murmann skriver tirsdag 14. juni 2011 kl. 21.14 
