Malagasy Coucal
Centropus toulou
A large, robust cuckoo with a black body and rufous wings. The head is pure black in breeding plumage and streaked white in non-breeding plumage. Found in a wide variety of habitats, including forest, scrub, plantations, savannah, and marsh. Generally skulks in thick vegetation, anywhere from the ground to high in the canopy, though will sometimes sing from an exposed perch. “Water bottle” song is a beautiful descending series of “boop” notes. Call is a long, dry rattle. Size, shape, and dark coloration make it distinctive within its range.
识别特征
The Malagasy coucal is a medium-sized bird with the adult length being in the range 40 to 50 cm (16 to 20 in). The male is smaller than the female, weighing about 140 g (5 oz) to the female's 190 g (7 oz), but otherwise the sexes are similar in appearance. In breeding plumage the bird is black, glossed with green, except for the tips of its wings which are brown and its mid and lower back which are reddish brown. In non-breeding plumage the head, neck and throat are brown streaked with cream, the wings reddish brown, the uppertail coverts black with some pale barring, the tail blackish brown with faint barring and the belly blackish brown. The iris is red, the bill black in breeding plumage and pale in non-breeding plumage, and the feet are grey to black. The call is a descending series of notes that sound like water pouring out of a bottle, and is often sung as a duet with the bird's mate.
分类信息
- 学名
- Centropus toulou
- 命名信息
- (Müller, PLS, 1776)
- 目
- Cuculiformes
- 科
- Cuculidae
- 属
- Centropus
分布与栖息地
The Malagasy coucal is resident in Madagascar and in Aldabra in the Seychelles, to which it may have spread via the Comoros, although it has not been present in the latter in historic times. It is found in a range of habitats including among undergrowth in both primary and secondary forests, woodland edges, clearings, palm groves, reedbeds, marshes, mangroves, rough grassland, paddifields and gardens at altitudes of up to 1,800 metres (5,900 ft).<p>There are two subspecies,
- 迁徙
- Resident species
行为
The Malagasy coucal inhabits thick, bushy places. It is a predator and feeds in the undergrowth and on the ground by pursuing and pouncing on its prey. Its diet includes large insects, spiders, molluscs and other invertebrates, geckos, skinks, chameleons and rodents, all of which it swallows whole. It pries off loose bark on trees to search for lizards or other prey hiding underneath. It has been recorded raiding bird nests and devouring the eggs and nestlings.<p>Breeding takes place between September and March and the male undertakes much of the nesting activity. The nest is a large, dome-shaped structure with an entrance at one end, hidden in dense vegetation within a few metres of the ground. It is composed of grasses, leaves, stems and tendrils and the female may start laying before it is completed. A clutch of two to three (occasionally four or five) smooth white eggs is laid at intervals of several days. Each egg hatches after about fifteen days of incubation, which is performed mostly by the male. The chicks grow rapidly and fledge about nineteen days later.
保护状况
- 种群趋势
- declining
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Spectacled Prickletail
Siptornis striaticollis
Small, brown bird of Andean cloud forest. Quite rare and apparently absent from many areas of seemingly appropriate forest. It has faint, pale streaking on the breast, a partial eye-ring, and a short white stripe behind the eye. Similar to Streaked Xenops, but bill is not upturned and lacks “whisker” stripes. Creeps along branches in middle levels of the forest, and often follows mixed-species flocks. Song is a quick series of high-pitched “tick” notes.
Long-tailed Woodnymph
Thalurania watertonii
Fairly large, slim hummingbird with a slightly forked tail and straight bill. Males have iridescent green and violet-blue plumage and females are green above and white below. Has a restricted distribution, occurring in coastal forests, plantations, and some wooded urban gardens. The similar male of Fork-tailed Woodnymph has a shorter tail and greener back, while females are difficult to tell apart, but ranges don’t overlap.
Rusty-tinged Antpitta
Grallaria przewalskii
Medium-sized antpitta restricted to cloud forest along the east slope of the Andes in northern Peru. Adult is rich cinnamon brown with a white belly and throat (sometimes tinged yellow), a gray crown, and a bluish eye-ring. The rarely-seen juvenile is much darker with buff barring. The species inhabits forest understory and usually stays on the ground, where it is hard to see. Some lodges in the area have feeding stations for it, making it much easier to find. Song is a series of three short notes; it can be imitated by proficient whistlers.
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