Malagasy Coucal

Overview

The Malagasy coucal, or Centropus toulou, is a medium-sized cuckoo native to Madagascar and Aldabra in the Seychelles. It is a resident species that inhabits dense vegetation across various tropical and subtropical habitats.

Identification

• In breeding plumage, the bird is black with a green gloss, featuring brown wing tips and a reddish-brown back.
• Non-breeding plumage includes a brown head and throat streaked with cream, reddish-brown wings, and blackish-brown tail and belly with faint barring.
• Possesses a red iris, with the bill appearing black in breeding plumage and pale otherwise.
• Call consists of a descending series of notes resembling water pouring out of a bottle, often performed as a duet with its mate.

Habitat

Found in Madagascar and Aldabra, this species thrives in dense undergrowth within primary and secondary forests, woodland edges, clearings, palm groves, and mangroves. It also occupies reedbeds, marshes, rough grassland, paddifields, and gardens at altitudes up to 1,800 metres.

Diet

As a predator, it forages on the ground and in the undergrowth by pursuing and pouncing on prey. Its diet comprises large insects, spiders, molluscs, other invertebrates, geckos, skinks, chameleons, and rodents, all of which are swallowed whole. It also pries off loose tree bark to search for hidden lizards.

Did you know?

The nest is a large, dome-shaped structure hidden in dense vegetation, and the male undertakes most of the nesting and incubation duties. The male may start laying before the nest is fully completed, with the female beginning to lay eggs while the structure is still under construction.