White-browed Coucal
Centropus superciliosus
A large, robust, ungainly cuckoo with rufous wings and a long, broad tail. Shows a solid dark cap and back of the head, and white underparts. Unlike other coucals, shows an obviously barred rump and upper tail coverts. It often moves clumsily, preferring to clamber about in rank vegetation or walk on the ground foraging for insects or small vertebrates. Its flight is labored and heavy. This species uses a wide variety of habitats with a thick understory, including savanna, woodland, forest edge, and wetlands. The song is a deep descending bubbling series, “bu-bu-bu bu bu bu bu”, that falls and then rises in pitch.
Identification
The white-browed coucal is a medium-sized species growing to 36 to 42 cm (14 to 17 in) in length. The sexes are similar, adults having a blackish crown and nape, a white supercilium, rufous-brown back, chestnut wings, blackish rump and black tail, glossed with green, with a white tip. The underparts are creamy-white, the eyes red, the beak black, and the legs and feet greyish-black or black. Juveniles have rufous streaking on the crown, a faint buff supercilium, barred upper parts and darker underparts.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Centropus superciliosus
- Authority
- Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1829
- Order
- Cuculiformes
- Family
- Cuculidae
- Genus
- Centropus
Range and habitat
The white-browed coucal is native to eastern and southern Africa, and the southwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula. Its range includes Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe in Africa, as well as Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It is a common species with a very wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed it as a "least-concern species".
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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A tiny, mouse-like flightless rail restricted to Inaccessible Island in the Tristan da Cunha group. The sooty adult has a brown back, a white-barred belly and flanks, and a reddish eye. Duller juvenile is paler and lacks barring. Prefers dense cover like tussock and thickets. Vocal, giving a strident trill to proclaim its territory, as well as a short “tchick” and other hard notes.
Short-crested Flycatcher
Myiarchus ferox
Fairly large flycatcher, mostly gray-brown above with a pale throat and pale yellow belly. Different subspecies vary in the tone of the upperparts, which may be warm or cold toned but all have dark bills. Found in savannas, semi-open woodlands, and at forest edges. Best distinguished from similar flycatchers by call: a short “police-officer” whistle “prrrih.”
Rufous-tailed Plantcutter
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Distinctive bird found in varied wooded and semiopen habitats, from town gardens to meadows and bogs in Andean foothills. Often seen perched on roadside wires. Generally sluggish—like an avian sloth. Feeds on new leaves, flowers, and often cuts grass on lawns! Handsome male is striking, with bright rusty underparts, white wing patches, and ruby-red eyes. Female is much plainer with streaked underparts and ruby-red eyes. Rufous band on base of tail is often hard to see.
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