The buff-headed coucal (''Centropus milo'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of coucal. These are often placed in the cuckoo

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

(

Cuculidae 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 separa ...

) but seem to warrant recognition as a distinct family. ''C. milo'' is a common

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

of the central islands of the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

. Its natural

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 ...

is tropical moist lowland and mountain

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s, mostly in primary and secondary growth. This species is a large cuckoo with a heavy bill and short wings. In total length, this species may measure . With a body mass of , this may be not only the largest coucal, apparently outweighing other very large coucals like the goliath coucal, but possibly the largest of all

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 ...

s, with a slightly higher cited weight than even the channel-billed cuckoo, usually considered the world's largest cuckoo. The

plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

of adults is striking with a buff head, upper back and undersides, and glossy black wings, lower back and tail. The iris is red and legs and bill are dark grey. Juveniles are very differently colored, with the wings and tail reddish brown with black barring somewhat like in the

allopatric Allopatric speciation () – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from ...

pheasant coucal The pheasant coucal (''Centropus phasianinus'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Australia, Timor and New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical man ...

, and the rest of the plumage brown mottled with black. The iris is brown-grey and the bill is bicolored, brown above and pale horn below. In local languages, the adult and juvenile are treated as different kinds of bird and each has a name of its own. For example, in Touo,

Roviana Roviana is a member of the North West Solomonic branch of Oceanic languages. It is spoken around Roviana and Vonavona lagoons at the north central New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. It has 10,000 first-language speakers and an additional 16,000 ...

and Marovo, the adult is called ''mozu'', ''nao'' and ''ao'', respectively, while the names for the juveniles are ''sagaza'', ''sengenge'' and ''chehohu''.Read & Moseby (2006)

Footnotes

References

* Doughty, Chris; Day, Nicolas & Plant, Andrew (1999): ''Birds of the Solomons, Vanuatu and New Caledonia''.

Christopher Helm Christopher Alexander Roger Helm (born Dundee, 1 February 1937 – 20 January 2007) was a Scottish book publisher, notably of ornithology related titles, including the ''Helm Identification Guides''. Born in Dundee, he was raised in Forfar, w ...

, London. * Read, John L. & Moseby, Katherine (2006): Vertebrates of Tetepare Island, Solomon Islands. ''Pacific Science'' 60(1): 69–79. DOI: 10.2984/1534-6188(2006)60 9:VOTISI.0.CO;2HTML abstract
{{Taxonbar, from=Q514907 buff-headed coucal Birds of the Western Province (Solomon Islands) Birds of Guadalcanal buff-headed coucal Taxonomy articles created by Polbot