Coucal - Centropodinae
Coucal Photo Gallery
A coucal is one of about 30 species of birds in the cuckoo family. All of them belong in the subfamily Centropodinae and the genus Centropus. Unlike many Old World cuckoos, coucals are not brood parasites. On the other hand they do have their own reproductive peculiarity: all members of the genus are to varying degrees sex-role reversed so that the smaller male provides most of the parental care. At least one coucal species, the Black Coucal, is polyandrous. Some species (Centropus phasianinus) have the male investing more in incubation and parental care. Recent DNA evidence suggests that they should be raised to family status, as Centropodidae.
Description
Many coucals have a long claw on their hind toe (hallux). The genus name from Greek kentron, a spike and pous for foot describe this hallux claw. The feet have minute spurs and this is responsible for the the German term for coucals Sporenkuckucke. The common name is perhaps derived from the French coucou and alouette (for the long lark like claw). (Cuvier, in Newton 1896)The length of the claw can be about 68-76% of the tarsus length in the African Black Coucal C. grillii and Lesser Coucal C. bengalensis. Only the Short-toed Coucal C. rectunguis is an exception with the hallux claw of only 23% of the tarsus length. Thread like feather structures (elongated sheaths of the growing feathers that are sometimes termed trichoptiles are found on the head and neck of hatchlings and can be as long as 20mm. Nestlings can look spiny. Many are opportunistic predators, Centropus phasianus is known to attack birds caught in mist nets while White-browed Coucals Centropus superciliosus are attracted to smoke from grass fires where they forage for insects and small mammals escaping from the fire.
Coucals generally make nests inside dense vegetation and they usually have the top covered but some species have the top open. Pheasant Coucal Centropus phasianinus, Greater Coucal C. sinensis and Madagascar Coucal C. toulou sometimes build an open nest while some species always build open nests (the Bay Coucal C. celebensis)
Species
- Bay Coucal, Centropus celebensis : The Bay Coucal (Centropus celebensis) is endemic to Indonesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes.
- Rufous Coucal, Centropus unirufus
- Black-faced Coucal, Centropus melanops : The Black-faced Coucal (Centropus melanops) is endemic to the Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
- Sunda Coucal, Centropus nigrorufus : The Sunda Coucal (Centropus nigrorufus) is endemic to Indonesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and swamps. It is threatened by habitat loss.
- Buff-headed Coucal, Centropus milo : The Goliath Coucal (Centropus goliath) is endemic to Indonesia.
- Goliath Coucal, Centropus goliath : The Violaceus Coucal (Centropus violaceus) is endemic to Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Formerly classified as a Species of Least Concern by the IUCN, it was suspected to be rarer than generally assumed. Following the evaluation of its population size, this was found to be correct, and it is consequently uplisted to Near Threatened status in 2008
- Violaceous Coucal, Centropus violaceus : The Violaceus Coucal (Centropus violaceus) is endemic to Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Formerly classified as a Species of Least Concern by the IUCN, it was suspected to be rarer than generally assumed. Following the evaluation of its population size, this was found to be correct, and it is consequently uplisted to Near Threatened status in 2008.
- Greater Black Coucal, Centropus menbeki : The Greater Black Coucal (Centropus menbeki) is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
- Pied Coucal, Centropus ateralbus : The Pied Coucal (Centropus ateralbus) is endemic to Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
- Pheasant Coucal, Centropus phasianinus
- Timor Pheasant Coucal, Centropus phasianinus mui - extinct? (late 20th century?)
- Kai Coucal, Centropus spilopterus : The Kai Coucal (Centropus spilopterus) is endemic to Indonesia.
- Lesser Black Coucal, Centropus bernsteini : The Lesser Black Coucal (Centropus bernsteini) is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
- Biak Coucal, Centropus chalybeus : The Biak Coucal (Centropus chalybeus) is endemic to Indonesia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
- Short-toed Coucal, Centropus rectunguis : The Short-toed Coucal (Centropus rectunguis) is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland. It is threatened by habitat loss.
- Black-hooded Coucal, Centropus steerii : The Black-hooded Coucal (Centropus steerii) is endemic to the Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
- Greater Coucal, Centropus sinensis
- Centropus parroti
- Brown Coucal, Centropus andamanensis : The Brown Coucal (Centropus andamanensis) is found in India and Myanmar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.
- Philippine Coucal, Centropus viridis : The Philippine Coucal (Centropus viridis) is endemic to the Philippines.
- Madagascar Coucal, Centropus toulou
: The Madagascar Coucal (Centropus toulou) is found in Comoros, Madagascar, Mayotte, and Seychelles. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.
- Aldabra Coucal, Centropus toulou insularis
- Assumption Island Coucal, Centropus toulou assumptionis - doubtfully distinct; extinct (c.1920s)
- Black Coucal, Centropus grillii : The Black Coucal (Centropus grillii) is found in Africa, specifically Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The species has the role of sexes reversed with the males tending the nest while females are polyandrous and maintain territories. Studies on the hormonal system show that male hormones are responsible for controlling the aggressiveness of females.
- Green-billed Coucal, Centropus chlororhynchus : The Green-billed Coucal, Centropus chlororhynchus, is endemic to Sri Lanka. The Green-billed Coucal is a rare and shy species of the tall rainforests of southwest Sri Lanka. It nests in a bush, and the typical clutch is 2-3 eggs. This is a large species at 43 cm. Its head and body are purple-black, the wings are maroon above and black below, and the long tail is dark green. The bill is a distinctive light green. Sexes are similar, but juveniles are duller and streaked. The Green-billed Coucal takes a wide range of insects, caterpillars and small vertebrates, but snails are a favourite. It occasionally eats other food items. This species is somewhat smaller and less contrasted than the widespread Greater Coucal. Despite its size and distinctive call, this is a difficult species to see because of the dense habitat in which it lives and its retiring nature. This coucal has a small and declining population as a result of the forest destruction.
- Lesser Coucal, Centropus bengalensis
- Black-throated Coucal, Centropus leucogaster : The Black-throated Coucal (Centropus leucogaster) is found in west Africa in dense second growth along forest edge and grassy swamps. The subspecies found in northern and central Zaire is sometimes split as Neumann's Coucal, Centropus neumanni
- Gabon Coucal, Centropus anselli : The Gabon Coucal (Centropus anselli) is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon
- Blue-headed Coucal, Centropus monachus : The Blue-headed Coucal (Centropus monachus) is found in Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda.
- Coppery-tailed Coucal, Centropus cupreicaudus : The Coppery-tailed Coucal (Centropus cupreicaudus) is found in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
- Senegal Coucal, Centropus senegalensis
- White-browed Coucal, Centropus superciliosus
- Burchell's Coucal, Centropus burchelli
- Centropus collosus (Extinct, known from the quaternary Green Waterhole Cave, Tantanoola, South Australia)
References
- Prodromus systematis mammalium et avium, p. 205.
- Andersson, Malte (1995). "Evolution of reversed sex roles, sexual size dimorphism, and mating system in coucals (Centropodidae, Aves)". Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 54 (2): 173–181. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ap/bj/1995/00000054/00000002/art00010
- Maurer, G. (2008). "Who Cares? Males Provide Most Parental Care in a Monogamous Nesting Cuckoo". Ethology 114 (6): 540-547. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.2008.01498.x.
- Newton, A. (1896). A dictionary of birds. Adam and Charles Black, London.
- Shelford, R (1900). "On the pterylosis of the embryos and nestlings of Centropus sinensis". Ibis 6: 654-667.
- Hindwood, KA (1942). "Nestling Coucal" (PDF). The Emu 42 (1): 52. http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=MU942050.pdf.
- Payne, RB (2005) The Cuckoos. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198502133
- Hicks, R.K. and R. Restall (1992). "Pheasant coucal Centropus phasianus attacking birds caught in a mist net". Muruk 5: 143.
- Rasmussen PC & JC Anderton 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Smithsonian Institution & Lynx Edicions
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