Black Coucal
Centropus grillii
Small coucal of marshes, swamps, and wet grassland. Distinctive in breeding plumage: black with a rufous wing. In non-breeding plumage, buffy and streaked. Skulks in the undergrowth, occasionally emerging to sit on an exposed perch. Vocalizations are a two part “kuu-kuk” and a descending and accelerating series of “tow” notes. In non-breeding plumage, separated from White-browed and immature Senegal coucals by its slightly smaller size and lack of a white eye stripe.
识别特征
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.
分类信息
- 学名
- Centropus grillii
- 命名信息
- Hartlaub, 1861
- 目
- Cuculiformes
- 科
- Cuculidae
- 属
- Centropus
分布与栖息地
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).
- 迁徙
- Resident species
行为
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.
保护状况
- 种群趋势
- stable
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Swainson's Sparrow
Passer swainsonii
A drab sparrow of northeastern Africa. The head and underparts are gray, the wing and back are brown, and the rump is rufous. Generally common within its range in all habitats except closed-canopy forest. Fond of human habitation. Very similar to Northern Gray-headed Sparrow, but there is little overlap in range, and Swainson’s has darker underparts. Also very similar to Parrot-billed Sparrow, but slightly smaller and slimmer-billed, with paler underparts. The call is a ringing “churp.”
White-bellied Thicket-Fantail
Rhipidura leucothorax
A medium-sized, long-tailed bird of lowland and foothill wooded thickets. Blackish plumage with short white eye-brow, white patch on the side of the throat and prominent white tail tips. Also white-spotted chest and wing bars. Secretive and difficult to see. Keeps to cover with tail often cocked and fanned. Similar to Black Thicket-Fantail, but White-bellied unsurprisingly has a white belly. Also similar to Sooty Thick-Fantail but has the white tail tips. Voice, a falling note followed by a high-pitch ringing note “joo-wii!”
Magpie-lark
Grallina cyanoleuca
Large, terrestrial songbird with long, strong legs and fairly long, thin bill. Male black above, white below, with white wing patch, white face patch, white eye, black bib, black eyeline; female has white throat and immature a dark eye. Inhabits parks, gardens, and urban areas. Aggressive and noisy, often attacking its own reflection in car mirrors and windows. Much smaller than Australian Magpie, with a smaller pale bill.
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