Blue malkoha | |
---|---|
![]() | |
C. a. flavirostris Ghana | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Cuculiformes |
Family: | Cuculidae |
Genus: | Ceuthmochares |
Species: | C. aereus |
Binomial name | |
Ceuthmochares aereus (Vieillot, 1817) | |
Subspecies | |
See text |
The blue malkoha or chattering yellowbill (Ceuthmochares aereus) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It was formerly conspecific with the green malkoha until split in 2016. It is widely distributed across the African tropical rainforest.
The blue malkoha has a greyish belly, head and throat and a heavy yellow bill but subspecies display some differences in plumage colouration. C. aereus aereus has a greenish and blue tail, wings and back, while C. aereus flavirostris has a blue tail, wings and back.
The blue malkoha feeds primarily on insects, particularly caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers and crickets; it will also take frogs, slugs, fruit, seeds and leaves. It moves through the tangled vegetation with a series of small hops, snatching prey as it travels. It will accompany other birds and squirrels, taking the insects flushed by them.
Unlike some other cuckoos the blue malkoha is not a brood parasite, instead it cares for its own young. Two white and creamy eggs are laid in a nest that is a rough mass of sticks suspended around 2–5 m above the ground. Both parents care for the young.
The blue malkoha is an uncommon species and rarely observed due to its secretive behaviour. However it is not considered threatened, and is listed as least concern by the IUCN.
The blue malkoha has two subspecies:
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 separated as distinct families, the Centropodidae and Crotophagidae, respectively. The cuckoo order Cuculiformes is one of three that make up the Otidimorphae, the other two being the turacos and the bustards. The family Cuculidae contains 150 species, which are divided into 33 genera.
The red-faced malkoha is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. This malkoha species is endemic to Sri Lanka
The blue-faced malkoha or small green-billed malkoha, is a non-parasitic cuckoo found in the scrub and deciduous forests of peninsular India and Sri Lanka. It has a waxy, dark, blue-grey plumage on its upperparts and has a long tail with graduated white-tipped feathers. The throat and chin are dark with spiny pale feathers that are branched. The lower belly is a dull creamy to rufous colour. The bill is apple green, and a naked patch of blue skin surrounds the eye. The sexes are alike. The blue-faced malkoha is a bird of open forests and scrub jungle.
The sirkeer malkoha or sirkeer cuckoo, is a non-parasitic cuckoo found in dry scrub forest and open woodland habitats in the Indian subcontinent. The species is long-tailed, largely olive brown on the upper side with a distinctive curved red beak tipped in yellow. They forage singly or in pairs mainly on or close to the ground creeping between grasses and bushes, often on rocky habitats where they feed on small lizards, insects, and sometimes berries and seeds. They are very silent and the sexes are identical in plumage.
The green-billed malkoha is a species of non-parasitic cuckoo found throughout Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The birds are waxy bluish black with a long graduated tail with white tips to the tail feathers. The bill is prominent and curved. These birds are found in dry scrub and thin forests.
Cuculus saturatus, better well known as the Himalayan cuckoo or Oriental cuckoo, is a brooding parasitic bird that is part of the Cuculidae family. The species breeds from the Himalayas eastward to southern China and Taiwan. It migrates to southeast Asia and the Greater Sunda Islands for the winter.
The Sahul brush cuckoo, formerly known as the brush cuckoo, is a member of the cuckoo family. It is native to Malesia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and northern and eastern Australia. It is a grey-brown bird with a buff breast. Its call is a familiar sound of the Australian and Indonesian bush.
Menetries's warbler or Ménétries's warbler is a small passerine bird of Southwest Asia belonging to the genus Curruca. The name of the species commemorates Édouard Ménétries, the French zoologist who described the species in 1832. It is closely related to the Sardinian warbler of the Mediterranean basin and is similar to it in appearance.
The fan-tailed cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Australia, Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.
The black-faced coucal is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is endemic to the Philippines found in the islands of Mindanao, Basilan Dinagat Islands Bohol, Leyte, Biliran and Samar. It is a striking coucal with its cream head contrasted with a black mask and tail and chestnut wings. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forest.
The African cuckoo or African grey cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa where it migrates within the continent, generally arriving and breeding in any one locality during the rainy season. A fairly common bird, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The rufous-vented ground cuckoo is a Vulnerable species of cuckoo in the tribe Neomorphini of subfamily Crotophaginae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, and Peru.
Raffles's malkoha is a species of cuckoo. It was formerly often placed in Phaenicophaeus with the other malkohas, but it is a rather distinct species, with several autapomorphies and sexual dimorphism.
The scale-feathered malkoha is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is a spectacular looking bird with its white hood, red eyes and yellowish bill with a line of scaled feathers down from the bill and up over the crown, contrasted with rufous neck and back and a black lower body and tail. It is endemic to the Philippines found only in the islands of Luzon, Catanduanes and Marinduque. The species was named after the collector Hugh Cuming.
The chestnut-breasted malkoha is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. Found in Southeast Asia from Myanmar through to eastern Java, the Philippines and Borneo, it is a large cuckoo measuring up to 49 cm (19 in) with grey and dark green upperparts and chestnut underparts, and a large curved pale upper mandible. The male and female are similar in plumage. Unlike many cuckoos, it builds its nest and raises its own young.
The rough-crested malkoha is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is endemic to Luzon Island in the Philippines. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forest. It is declining due to habitat loss and hunting.
The blue paradise flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is endemic to Palawan. It is mainly found in the understory of lowland primary and secondary forests, however populations are likely to be declining owing to habitat loss.
The Philippine drongo-cuckoo is a bird of the cuckoo family found only in the Philippines. It was formerly a subspecies of the Square-tailed drongo-cuckoo. It is found tropical moist lowland forest up to 1,000 meters above sea level. It is declining due to habitat loss.
The fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo is a species of cuckoo that resembles the Black drongo. It is found mainly in hill forests in peninsular India and Sri Lanka although some specimens are known from the Himalayan foothills. It can be identified by its metallic black plumage, straight beak, white barred vent, forked tail and white spot on the back of the head. The fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo's song has been described as a series of 5 or 6 whistling "pip-pip-pip-pip-pip-" notes rising in pitch with each "pip". They are also known for their drongo-like calls such as "quip" calls in flight and "wheep-wheep" call with a higher second note. In Sri Lanka, the fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo also has similar calls to the Sri Lanka Drongo.
The green malkoha or whistling yellowbill is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. This species and the blue malkoha were previously considered conspecific and together known as the yellowbill.