Lesser coucal
Lesser coucal | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Cuculiformes
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Family: | Cuculidae |
Genus: | Centropus |
Species: | C. bengalensis
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Binomial name | |
Centropus bengalensis (Gmelin, JF, 1788)
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Subspecies | |
See text |
The lesser coucal (Centropus bengalensis) is a species of
Taxonomy
The lesser coucal was
Six subspecies are recognised:
- C. b. bengalensis (Gmelin, JF, 1788) – India and Nepal to Myanmar, Thailand and Indochina
- C. b. lignator Swinhoe, 1861 – south, southeast China, Hainan and Taiwan
- C. b. javanensis Dumont, 1818 – Malay Peninsula to Sumatra, Riau and Lingga Island (east of central Sumatra), Bangka and Belitung (east of south Sumatra), Java, Borneo, Palawan group and Sulu Archipelago (southwest, south Philippines)
- C. b. philippinensis Mees, 1971 – Philippines (except Palawan group and Sulu Archipelago) Sometimes included in javanensis.[7][8]
- C. b. sarasinorum Talaud Islands (north of northeast Sulawesi) and Lesser Sunda Islands
- C. b. medius Bonaparte, 1850 – Moluccas (except Kai Islands, southeast Moluccas)
In the past, this species was lumped along with the Malagasy coucal (Centropus toulou) but comparison of DNA sequences suggest that the lesser coucal is more closely related to the black coucal (Centropus grillii) and Philippine coucal (Centropus viridis) than to any other relatives.[9][10]
Description
This slightly smaller-sized and shorter-billed coucal has a very long hind claw, the longest within the genus. The overall plumage, as in many other coucals, is of a blackish bird with a long tail and rufous wings. They have two plumages, a breeding plumage in which the head and upper back are glossy with dark shafts to the feather and a duller non-breeding plumage in which the feather shafts on the head and back are whitish. The wing coverts also have pale shafts showing as whitish streaks on the brown feathers. The central upper tail coverts are barred and very long. The iris is darker brown and not the crimson red as in the greater coucal. Juveniles have black spots, bars and have a browner colour.[11] The calls of the lesser coucal include a series of low double "whoot-woot" or "kurook" notes that increase in tempo and descend in pitch. The Indonesian name of dudut is onomatopoeic.[9]
The species is widely distributed west from the
Behaviour and ecology
The lesser coucal is found singly or in pairs low in the undergrowth in marshy or grassy areas adjoining forest. They appear to be found mainly in lowlands. Like other coucals, they are not brood-parasitic cuckoos. They nest from May to September but mainly after the rains in June in India, building a dome of grass blades on a low tree.[11] The usual clutch is 3 eggs in India, 2 in Southeast Asia and 4 in Taiwan. Both sexes incubate the eggs and care for the young.[8]
References
- ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Centropus bengalensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22684254A93021566. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- ^ Gmelin, Johann Friedrich (1788). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae : secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1, Part 1 (13th ed.). Lipsiae [Leipzig]: Georg. Emanuel. Beer. p. 412.
- ^ Brown, Peter (1776). Nouvelles illustrations de zoologie : contenant cinquante planches enlumineés d'oiseaux curieux, et qui non etés jamais descrits, et quelques de quadrupedes, de reptiles et d'insectes, avec de courtes descriptions systematiques [New illustrations of zoology, containing fifty coloured plates of new, curious, and non-descript birds, with a few quadrupeds, reptiles and insects]. London: Imprimé pour B. White. p. 26, Plate 13.
- ^ Illiger, Johann Karl Wilhelm (1811). Prodromus systematis mammalium et avium (in Latin). Berolini [Berlin]: Sumptibus C. Salfeld. p. 205.
- Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2022). "Turacos, bustards, cuckoos, mesites, sandgrouse". IOC World Bird List Version 12.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ Mees, G.F. (1971). "The Philippine subspecies of Centropus bengalensis (Gmelin) (Aves, Cuculidae)". Zoologische Mededelingen Uitgegeven Door Het Rijksmuseum Van Natuurlijke Historiete Leiden. 45: 189–191.
- ^ ISBN 978-84-87334-22-1.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-850213-5.
- ^ Parkes, Kenneth C. (1957). "Taxonomic notes on the Lesser Coucal, Centropus bengalensis". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 77: 115–116.
- ^ ISBN 978-84-96553-87-3.
- ^ Butler, A.L. (1897). "On the occurrence of the Lesser Coucal (Centropus bengalensis, Blyth) in Ceylon". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 11 (1): 162.
- ^ Deignan, H.G. (1955). "Four new races of birds from East Asia". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 68: 145–148.
- ^ Philip, V. (1993). "Occurrence of the Lesser Crow-Pheasant Centropus tolou in Neyyar". Newsletter for Birdwatchers. 33 (5): 93–94.
External links
- Lesser coucal - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds.