Coucal noir

Centropus grillii

Petit coucal des marais, des marécages et des prairies humides. Distinctif en plumage nuptial : noir avec une aile rousse. En plumage non nuptial, il est chamois et strié. Il se cache dans le sous-bois, émergeant occasionnellement pour se poser sur un perchoir exposé. Ses vocalisations sont un « kuu-kuk » en deux parties et une série de notes « tow » descendantes et accélérées. En plumage non nuptial, il se distingue des coucals à sourcils blancs et des coucals du Sénégal immatures par sa taille légèrement plus petite et l'absence de bande superciliaire blanche.

Identification

The male black coucal is 30 cm (12 in) in length while the female is 34 cm (13 in), otherwise they are similar in appearance. In breeding plumage the head, body and tail are black, apart from some buff barring on the rump, and the wings are rufous. Outside the breeding season, the upper parts are dark brown with rufous barring. The eyes are brown and the beak and legs are black. Juveniles are rufous with various dark and light barring and streaking.

Taxonomie

Nom scientifique
Centropus grillii
Autorité
Hartlaub, 1861
Ordre
Cuculiformes
Famille
Cuculidae
Genre
Centropus

Répartition et habitat

It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, DRC, Ivory Coast, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It is resident in some locations and migrant in others. Its habitat is marshes, savannah, grassland, bracken, undergrowth, and clearings in woodland, and occasionally reeds and papyrus. It usually occurs below 1,500 m (5,000 ft) but occasionally up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft).

Migration
Resident species

Comportement

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 progesterone is responsible for controlling the aggressiveness of females.

Conservation

Tendance de la population
stable

Photos

Distribution

Chants d'Oiseaux

Commencez votre Voyage d'Observation d'Oiseaux

Identifiez les oiseaux dehors et gardez le guide à portée de main pour votre prochaine observation.

Coucal noir | BirdLens