The Andaman coucal or brown coucal (''Centropus andamanensis'') is a species of non-parasitic

cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...

found in the

Andaman Andaman may refer to: * Andaman Islands * Andaman Sea * ''Andaman'' (1998 film), a Kannada-language film * ''Andaman'' (2016 film), a Tamil-language film * ''Andaman'' (2021 film), a Hindi-language film See also * Andaman and Nicobar Islands ...

s, Coco and Table Islands. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the

greater coucal The greater coucal or crow pheasant (''Centropus sinensis''), is a large non-parasitic member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. A widespread resident in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, it is divided into several subspec ...

. It is found mainly in forested

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s and thickly covered gardens.

Description

It is a large coucal, with males being around 380–400 mm (12.6-15.7 inches) and females somewhat larger at 400–420 mm (15.7-16.5 inches) in length. Structurally, it closely resembles the

(''Centropus sinensis''), except that its plumage is a fawn brown as opposed to the black with bluish-purple sheen seen in ''C. sinensis''. It has a chestnut rear

mantle A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that. Mantle may refer to: *Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear **Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...

and wings and the head is pale tawny brown. The mantle and breast grade from pale to dark brown on the belly and

vent Vent or vents may refer to: Science and technology Biology *Vent, the cloaca region of an animal *Vent DNA polymerase, a thermostable DNA polymerase Geology *Hydrothermal vent, a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated water ...

. The iris is pale brown. The tail is a pale brown at the base and dark violet-brown towards the tip. The tail feathers have conspicuous black shafts. The juvenile shows slight barring on the body, especially on the underside.

Taxonomy and systematics

This species was first described as ''Centropus andamanensis'' (

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

after its distribution) by R.C. Tytler, although his notes were published by R.C. Beavan in 1867. Stuart Baker (1927) continued to treat it as a species but Ripley (1961) and Ali and Ripley (1969) included it as a subspecies of ''

Centropus sinensis The greater coucal or crow pheasant (''Centropus sinensis''), is a large non-parasitic member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. A widespread resident in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, it is divided into several subspeci ...

''. This is justified by the treatment of another species with a brown form in the Kangean Islands, ''Centropus sinensis kangeangensis''.

Peters Peters may refer to: People * Peters (surname) * Peters Band, a First Nations band in British Columbia, Canada Places United States * Peters, California, a census-designated place * Peters, Florida, a town * Peters Township, Kingman County, Kansas ...

considered it doubtful as a subspecies and noted a structural resemblance to the Sri Lankan '' Centropus chlororhynchus''. Rasmussen and Anderton (2005) consider it a valid species on the basis of distinct vocalization and also suggest elevation of the Kangean form and further study of ''Centropus sinensis''.

Distribution and habitat

It is mainly found in the Andamans (at least South, North and associated islets) as well as on the nearby

Coco Islands The Coco Islands ( my, ကိုကိုးကျွန်း) are a small group of islands in the northeastern Bay of Bengal. They are part of the Yangon Region of Myanmar. The islands are located south of the city of Yangon. Coco Island gr ...

and

Table Island Table Island is an uninhabited island within the Arctic Archipelago in the territory of Nunavut. It lies in Norwegian Bay, north of Devon Island, and is also south Cornwall Island, separated by Belcher Channel. Ekins Island is a small islet ab ...

, which belong to

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

. It is common in forests and in disturbed areas including gardens, forest and edge, mangroves, edges of paddy fields.

Behaviour and ecology

It breeds during the monsoon (May through July). The nest is made of twigs, grass and leaves and is placed well above the ground in a tree. The usual clutch is two or three. The song is much like that of the

, consisting of a long series of very deep and resonant ''hoop'' notes. The notes however rise abruptly in pitch. It is also known to produce chuckling and grating calls. Feeds on all kinds of insects, small frogs, crabs and lizards.

Gallery

References

External links

Images and videos (Internet Bird Collection)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q972603 Andaman coucal Birds of the Andaman Islands Andaman coucal Andaman coucal Taxonomy articles created by Polbot