The Guinea turaco was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.

[3] Linnaeus based his description on the "Touraco" that had been described and illustrated in 1743 by the English naturalist George Edwards in his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds.

[4] The Guinea turaco is now placed in the genus Tauraco that was introduced in 1779 by the Polish naturalist Jan Krzysztof Kluk.

[7] The plumage is largely brilliant green and blue and the tail and wings are dark purplish, except for the crimson primary feathers that are very distinct in flight.

[8] It can be found in forests of West and Central Africa, ranging from Senegal east to DR Congo and south to northern Angola.

These birds feed on wide variety of wild and cultivated tropical fruits (for instance on Musanga, Macaranga, Rauvolfia, Cissus and Ficus species, etc.