Giant Coua

Overview

The giant coua (Coua gigas) is a large bird species belonging to the cuckoo family, endemic to Madagascar. As a member of the Coua genus, which contains the most species of any other group on the island, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List due to habitat loss and hunting.

Identification

• Approximately 62 cm (24 in) in length, nearly double the size of Coua coquereli.
• Features a distinctive blue patch around the eyes, a characteristic shared with African turacos.
• Possesses a reversible third toe, an adaptation that allows the bird to scramble through entangled vines.
• Capable of climbing up to 10 m (33 ft) high from the ground.

Habitat

Found in the lowlands of western and southern Madagascar up to an elevation of 700 m. The species prefers undisturbed dry forests and large, unlogged gallery forests that lack dense shrub layers, though it may utilise microhabitats with greater canopy cover in logged areas.

Diet

Feeds on seeds such as Capurodendron madagascariensis and Buxus madagascariensis, insects, and small vertebrates including chameleons. Foraging behaviour is influenced by the environment; in logged forests, they tend to glean during dry seasons and leap or sally during rainy seasons, whereas in forested areas they glean more in rainy seasons and probe in dry seasons.

Did you know?

The genus name Coua derives from koa, the Malagasy word for these birds, while the specific epithet gigas is Latin for 'giant'.