The Andaman coucal or brown coucal (''Centropus andamanensis'') is a species of non-parasitic cuckoo 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. It is found mainly in forested habitats 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 greater coucal (''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

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and wings and the head is pale tawny brown. The mantle and breast grade from pale to dark brown on the belly and vent. 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 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 considered it doubtful as a subspecies and noted a structural resemblance to the Sri Lankan ''

Centropus chlororhynchus The green-billed coucal (''Centropus chlororhynchos'') is a member of the cuckoos. It is endemic to Sri Lanka's wet zone and listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as the small population declined due to forest destruction and fragmentation ...

''. 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 greater coucal, 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 The Andaman coucal or brown coucal (''Centropus andamanensis'') is a species of non-parasitic cuckoo found in the Andamans, Coco and Table Islands. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the greater coucal. It is found mainly in forested habi ...

Birds of the Andaman Islands

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot