Chestnut-breasted Malkoha
Phaenicophaeus curvirostris
Combination of a bright red face, staring pale eyes, and chunky bicolored bill lends this lowland and foothill forest species a clownlike countenance. Dark glossy greenish above and rich chestnut-brown below, this oversized cuckoo clumps about amongst foliage, looking rather squirrel-like in its movements. Sometimes joins mixed flocks. Gives a range of strange calls, including hollow knocks and hoarse crowing and mewing notes.
Identification
Measuring 42–49 cm (17–19 in) in length, the chestnut-breasted malkoha has a large, curved, pale yellow upper mandible and darker red or black lower mandible, and a bare red patch of rough skin around the eye. The head is grey and wings are dark green fading to blue with age. Its underparts and rump are chestnut, and feet are dark grey. Little sexual dimorphism is seen, as the male and female are similar in plumage, although the male has a pale blue iris and the female yellow.
Taxonomy
The chestnut-breasted malkoha was first described from a specimen collected in western Java by English naturalist George Shaw in 1810 as Cuculus curvirostris, before the genus Phaenicophaeus was erected by English naturalist James Francis Stephens in 1815. Its specific epithet is derived from the Latin words curvus "curved", and rostrum "beak". The genus name is derived from the ancient Greek phoiniko- "crimson", and phaes "eyes" or "face", referring to the red-faced malkoha. However, the 'œ' was transcribed incorrectly as 'æ'.<p>Six subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Phaenicophaeus curvirostris
- Authority
- (Shaw, 1810)
- Order
- Cuculiformes
- Family
- Cuculidae
- Genus
- Phaenicophaeus
Range and habitat
It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the western Philippines, and southern Thailand.<p>Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. It resides mainly in the middle story in dense foliage. Much of its forest habitat is being cleared.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Tanimbar Corella
Cacatua goffiniana
Small white parrot with short crest, ring of grayish-blue skin around the eye, and pink patch between the eye and the bill. Yellow-tinged undersides of wings and tail often visible in flight. Endemic to the forests of the Indonesian Tanimbar Islands, where now uncommon and declining. Introduced populations are scattered widely around the world and have become established in suburban areas in Taiwan, Singapore, Puerto Rico, Indonesia's Kai Islands, and Japan.
Dark Hawk-Cuckoo
Hierococcyx bocki
Large long-tailed cuckoo with a distinctly raptor-like appearance. As with most other hawk-cuckoos, often perches deep in tall trees; best detected by its song, a piercing and repetitive “wit-CHEW-WEE”. If seen well, note adult’s dark gray back, rufous chest, and barred white belly; juvenile has streaked throat and browner upperparts. Found in montane and foothill forest.
Common Scoter
Melanitta nigra
Fairly common sea duck; feeds by diving. Breeds on tundra lakes; winters at sea in coastal bays, estuaries, harbors. Rarely seen inland on fresh water, mainly during migration periods. Occurs locally in flocks of hundreds, but also found as singles and small groups. Male distinctive: wholly black with raised knob at base of bill, yellow wedge on top of bill. Female dark brown overall with pale cheeks. In flight looks all-dark, often flying in rather tight groups low to fairly high over the sea.
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