The White-Bellied Go-Away Bird (Corythaixoides leucogaster) is from east Africa. It is in the turaco bird family and may be related to cuckoos.

It was given the name, Go-Away Bird, because it sounds like it is calling “go-away.”

It has a grey head, a long black crest which can be raised or lowered, grey neck and back. Its stomach is grey on top and white below with a clear line of demarcation. It has rows of black bars on its wings.

White-Bellied Go-Away Bird

It can grow to 50 centimetres (20 inches) tall.

The White-Bellied Go-Away Bird likes acacia trees and thorny scrublands. It eats fruit, acacia flowers, and aloe plants.

Female White-Bellied Go-Away Birds lay 2-3 eggs in an untidy twig nest in a thorny tree.

White-Bellied Go-Away Bird

White-Bellied Go-Away Bird

White-Bellied Go-Away Bird

Photographer: Martina Nicolls

Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM