Buff-headed Coucal
Centropus milo
A large, long-tailed, thick-billed, uniquely patterned bird with dark blue wings, tail, and belly and creamy neck, chest, and head. Found in most habitats, most commonly in lowland forests. Often flushed from trackside vegetation. Otherwise inconspicuous, but regularly feeds on the ground. Unique within its range. Pairs give a back-and-forth “snoring” duet, ”urrrrh-uh,” but individuals give a range of barking and coughing noises.
Identification
The buff-headed coucal (Centropus milo) is a species of coucal. These are often placed in the cuckoo family (Cuculidae) but seem to warrant recognition as a distinct family. C. milo is a common endemic of the central islands of the Solomon Islands. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland and mountain forests, mostly in primary and secondary growth. This species is a large cuckoo with a heavy bill and short wings. In total length, this species may measure 60 to 69 cm (24 to 27 in). With a body mass of 769 g (1.695 lb), this may be not only the largest coucal, apparently outweighing other very large coucals like the goliath coucal, but possibly the largest of all cuckoos, with a slightly higher cited weight than even the channel-billed cuckoo, usually considered the world's largest cuckoo. The plumage of adults is striking with a buff head, upper back and undersides, and glossy black wings, lower back and tail. The iris is red and legs and bill are dark grey. Juveniles are very differently colored, with the wings and tail reddish brown with black barring somewhat like in the allopatric pheasant coucal, and the rest of the plumage brown mottled with black. The iris is brown-grey and the bill is bicolored, brown above and pale horn below. In local languages, the adult and juvenile are treated as different kinds of bird and each has a name of its own. For example, in Touo, Roviana and Marovo, the adult is called mozu, nao and ao, respectively, while the names for the juveniles are sagaza, sengenge and chehohu.
Taxonomy
Genus: Centropus; Family: Cuculidae; Order: Cuculiformes.
- Scientific name
- Centropus milo
- Authority
- Gould, 1856
- Order
- Cuculiformes
- Family
- Cuculidae
- Genus
- Centropus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
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White-headed Sawwing
Psalidoprocne albiceps
A small, fork-tailed, sooty-brown swallow with different plumages for the sexes: distinctive male has a pure white head and narrow black eye stripe; female has a mostly ashy head with white throat. Immature lacks white on the head. Pairs use clearings and edges of evergreen forest, open woodland, and cultivation. Resident in East Africa, but an intra-African breeding migrant in Zambia and Malawi between October and May. Superficially more similar to swifts than other swallows. Note the differences in flight style: flightier with deep wing beats and rapid changes of direction, as opposed to the more stiff-winged flight of swifts.
Rufous Paradise-Flycatcher
Terpsiphone cinnamomea
A medium-sized, long-tailed bird of lowland and foothill forest. Overall rufous in color with a blue bill and a blue eye-ring that is broader in males. Races differ. Northern males have especially extended central tail feathers. Female and southern males have a paler belly. Somewhat similar to Cinnamon Ibon, but found at lower elevations, with a longer tail and a blue eye-ring. Gives a repetitive series of upslurred whistled notes or a shorter, nasal grating call, “greet grr-grr,” with the first note upslurred.
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