Coucal

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A coucal is one of about 30 species of birds in the cuckoo family. All of them belong in the subfamily Centropodinae and the genus Centropus. Unlike many Old World cuckoos, coucals are not brood parasites, though they do have their own reproductive peculiarity: all members of the genus are (to varying degrees) sex-role reversed, so that the smaller male provides most of the parental care. Male pheasant coucals (Centropus phasianinus) invest in building the nest, incubate for the most part and take a major role in feeding the young.[1] At least one coucal species, the black coucal, is polyandrous.[2]

Taxonomy

The genus Centropus was introduced in 1811 by the German zoologist Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger.[3] The type species was subsequently designated as the Senegal coucal by George Robert Gray in 1840.[4][5] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek kentron meaning "spur" or "spike" with pous meaning "foot".[6]

Description

Many coucals have a long claw on their hind toe (hallux). The feet have minute spurs and this is responsible for the German term for coucals Sporenkuckucke. The common name is perhaps derived from the French coucou and alouette (for the long lark like claw).[7] (Cuvier, in Newton 1896) The length of the claw can be about 68-76% of the tarsus length in the African black coucal C. grillii and lesser coucal C. bengalensis. Only the short-toed coucal C. rectunguis is an exception with the hallux claw of only 23% of the tarsus length. Thread like feather structures (elongated sheaths of the growing feathers that are sometimes termed trichoptiles[8][9]) are found on the head and neck of hatchlings and can be as long as 20mm. Nestlings can look spiny.[10] Many are opportunistic predators, Centropus phasianus is known to attack birds caught in mist nets[11] while white-browed coucals Centropus superciliosus are attracted to smoke from grass fires where they forage for insects and small mammals escaping from the fire.[10]Template:Rp

Coucals generally make nests inside dense vegetation and they usually have the top covered but some species have the top open. Pheasant coucal Centropus phasianinus, greater coucal C. sinensis and Madagascar coucal C. toulou sometimes build an open nest while some species always build open nests (the bay coucal C. celebensis)[10]Template:Rp

Some coucal species have been seen to fly while carrying their young.[12]

Species

The genus contains 29 species:[13]

Image Scientific name Common name Distribution
Centropus milo Buff-headed coucal Solomon Islands
Centropus ateralbus White-necked coucal Bismarck Archipelago
Centropus menbeki Ivory-billed coucal Aru Islands and New Guinea
Centropus chalybeus Biak coucal Biak
File:Rufous Coucal2.jpg  Centropus unirufus Rufous coucal Luzon
Centropus chlororhynchos Green-billed coucal Sri Lanka lowland rain forests
File:38 BLACK FACED COUCAL.jpg  Centropus melanops Black-faced coucal southern Philippines
Centropus steerii Black-hooded coucal Mindoro
Centropus rectunguis Short-toed coucal Malesia
Centropus celebensis Bay coucal Sulawesi
Centropus anselli Gabon coucal Congolian rainforests
Centropus leucogaster Black-throated coucal Guineo-Congolian region
File:Senegal Coucal -Centropus senegalensis -on tree.jpg  Centropus senegalensis Senegal coucal lower Nile valley
and Sub-Saharan Africa
Centropus monachus Blue-headed coucal northern sub-Saharan Africa
File:Centropus burchellii Moremi 2.jpg  Centropus cupreicaudus Coppery-tailed coucal miombo and adjacent areas
File:Centropus superciliosus -Tanzania-8.jpg  Centropus superciliosus White-browed coucal Sub-Saharan Africa
File:Burchell's Coucal Centropus burchelli.jpg  Centropus burchellii Burchell's coucal miombo and adjacent areas
Centropus nigrorufus Sunda coucal Java
File:செண்பகம்.jpg  Centropus sinensis Greater coucal Indomalayan realm
File:Malagasy Coucal (Centropus toulou), Ankarafantsika, Madagascar (4315997068).jpg  Centropus toulou Malagasy coucal Seychelles and Madagascar
File:Centropus goliath.jpg  Centropus goliath Goliath coucal North Maluku
Centropus grillii Black coucal Sub-Saharan Africa
Centropus viridis Philippine coucal Philippines
File:Lesser coucal 65.jpg  Centropus bengalensis Lesser coucal Indomalayan realm
Centropus violaceus Violaceous coucal Bismarck Archipelago
Centropus bernsteini Black-billed coucal New Guinea
Centropus spilopterus Kai coucal Kai Islands
File:Centropus phasianinus -Daintree, Queensland, Australia-8.jpg  Centropus phasianinus Pheasant coucal Timor, Australia and New Guinea
File:CentropusAndamanensisSmit.jpg  Centropus andamanensis Andaman coucal Andaman Islands

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Maurer, G. (2008). "Who Cares? Males Provide Most Parental Care in a Monogamous Nesting Cuckoo". Ethology. 114 (6): 540–547. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.2008.01498.x.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Andersson, Malte (1995). "Evolution of reversed sex roles, sexual size dimorphism, and mating system in coucals (Centropodidae, Aves)" (Abstract). Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 54 (2): 173–181. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1995.tb01030.x.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Illiger, Johann Karl Wilhelm (1811). Prodromus systematis mammalium et avium (in Latin). Berolini [Berlin]: Sumptibus C. Salfeld. p. 205.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Gray, George Robert (1840). A List of the Genera of Birds : with an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus. London: R. and J.E. Taylor. p. 56.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Peters, James Lee, ed. (1940). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 4. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 66.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 96. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Newton, Alfred (1893–1896). A Dictionary of Birds. London: Adam and Charles Black. p. 107.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Shelford, R (1900). "On the pterylosis of the embryos and nestlings of Centropus sinensis". Ibis. 6 (4): 654–667. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.1900.tb00763.x.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hindwood, KA (1942). "Nestling Coucal" (PDF). The Emu. 42 (1): 52. doi:10.1071/MU942050c.
  10. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Payne, R.B. (2005). The Cuckoos. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-850213-3.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hicks, R.K.; Restall, R. (1992). "Pheasant coucal Centropus phasianus attacking birds caught in a mist net". Muruk. 5: 143.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bell, H.L. (1984). "Carrying of young in flight by Coucals Centropus spp". Australian Bird Watcher. 10: 171.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2022). "Turacos, bustards, cuckoos, mesites, sandgrouse". IOC World Bird List Version 12.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 12 August 2022.

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