Greater Coucal
A species of Coucals Scientific name : Centropus sinensis Genus : Coucals
Greater Coucal, A species of Coucals
Botanical name: Centropus sinensis
Genus: Coucals
Content
Description People often ask General Info
Description
This is a large species of cuckoo. The head is black, upper mantle and underside are black glossed with purple. The back and wings are chestnut brown. There are no pale shaft streaks on the coverts. The eyes are ruby red. Juveniles are duller black with spots on the crown and there are whitish bars on the underside and tail. There are several geographic races and some of these populations are sometimes treated as full species. 
Size
52 cm
Feeding Habits
Greater Coucal consumes a varied diet including large insects, caterpillars, small vertebrates like young mice, snails, lizards, birds' eggs, fruits, and seeds. It forages on the ground and in bushes, adapting uniquely to diverse food sources.
Habitat
The greater Coucal typically inhabits a diverse range of environments, often favoring areas where forest meets open spaces, such as grasslands, forest edges, and near cultivation. They are also found in wetlands, including marshes, swamps, and mangroves, and are adapted to human-modified landscapes such as gardens and agricultural fields like paddy. These birds thrive in secondary forests, thickets, and bamboo groves, with a preference for lowland habitats but can be located in hilly regions up to an altitude of 1200 meters, occasionally reaching 2100 meters.
Dite type
Omnivorous
People often ask
General Info
Behavior
They sunbathe in the mornings singly or in pairs on the top of vegetation with their wings spread out. The territory of a nesting pair has been found in southern India to be 0.9 to 7.2 ha (mean 3.8 ha). They are most active in the warm hours of the morning and in the late afternoon.
Distribution Area
The nominate race is found from the Indus Valley through the sub-Himalayan and Gangetic plains to Nepal, Assam and the Bhutan foothills into southern China (Guangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian).
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Cuckoos and Relatives Family
Cuckoos Genus
Coucals Species
Greater Coucal 
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