Blue-headed Coucal

Overview

The blue-headed coucal is a medium-sized cuckoo native to tropical central Africa. It is a common bird with a wide range and is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN.

Identification

• Medium-sized bird measuring 45 to 52 cm in length with a black, blue-glossed head and back.
• Predominantly deep chestnut wings and a black tail with green or bronze gloss; underparts are white or pale buff.
• Dark red eyes with a black beak and greyish-black legs and feet.
• Juveniles resemble adults but have duller black areas, rufous-buff streaked heads, barred wings, and spotted throat and breast feathers.

Habitat

The species inhabits wet locations such as swamps, marshes, river banks, tall grassland, wet savannah, plantations, secondary growth forest, farmland, and villages. It occurs at altitudes up to 3,000 m, generally higher than the Senegal coucal. Its range covers numerous countries across tropical central Africa, including Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda.