White-browed coucal
| White-browed coucal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Burchell's Coucal (Centropus burchelli) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Cuculiformes |
| Family: | Cuculidae |
| Genus: | Centropus |
| Species: | C. superciliosus |
| Binomial name | |
| Centropus superciliosus Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833 | |
The white-browed coucal or lark-heeled cuckoo (Centropus superciliosus), is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. It is found in sub-Saharan Africa. It inhabits areas with thick cover afforded by rank undergrowth and scrub, including in suitable coastal regions. Common names include Gewone Vleilourie in Afrikaans and umGugwane in Zulu.[2]
Description
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.[3]
Distribution
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, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, 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".[1]
Ecology
The southern subspecies is sometimes split off as Burchell's coucal, (Centropus burchelli), named after the British naturalist William John Burchell. This common resident of southern Africa is usually seen as a solitary individual or seen in pairs. and prefers clambering through the riverine or coastal bush. It is more often heard than it is seen, when it does fly, the flight is ponderous and ends with a long glide to the next bush. This bird has a distinctive call, which resembles water pouring from a bottle, and various other calls such as the "dove" call and an alarm hiss. The birds are most vocal in the breeding season, and a couple may call in duet, or several birds may call in concert.[3]
Between September and February a large matted nest is normally made in a thorn tree and usually four white eggs are laid[2] and hatch out after 14 to 18 days. Both parents feed the nestlings for another three weeks.[4]
The Burchell's coucal is predatory, stalking through thick bush and eating insects (including Orthoptera), snails, amphibians (frogs and toads), reptiles (including lizards and chameleons) and birds up to the size of a Laughing dove.[4]
References
- 1 2 BirdLife International (2012). "Centropus superciliosus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- 1 2 Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa. 1996. pp. 337–338. ISBN 0620175834.
- 1 2 Erritzøe, Johannes; Mann, Clive F.; Brammer, Frederik; Fuller, Richard A. (2012). Cuckoos of the World. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 174–176. ISBN 978-1-4081-4267-7.
- 1 2 "Centropus burchellii (Burchell's coucal)". Retrieved 13 December 2015.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Centropus superciliosus.
- White-browed coucal - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds.