Coua

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Couas
Coquerel's Coua, crop.jpg
Coquerel's coua (Coua coquereli)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Cuculiformes
Family: Cuculidae
Genus: Coua
Schinz, 1821
Type species
Cuculus madagascariensis [1]
Gmelin, 1788
Species

See text

LocationMadagascar.svg
     range of genus

Couas are large, mostly terrestrial birds of the cuckoo family, endemic to the island of Madagascar.

Contents

Couas are reminiscent of African turacos when walking along tree branches, and they likewise feature brightly coloured bare skin around the eyes. Some resemble coucals in their habit of clambering through jungle while foraging, while the arboreal species move between tree canopies with gliding flight. Four species have been recorded in rainforests while the remaining six are found in the dry forests of western and southern Madagascar.

They have large feet, with a reversible third toe like all cuckoos. Their long tibia suggest a relationship with the Carpococcyx ground-cuckoos of Asia, a genus with similar nestlings. Consequently, they are sometimes united in the subfamily Couinae. [2] Couas build their own nests and lay white eggs. Couas' calls are a short series of evenly-spaced notes, which are sometimes answered by other individuals.

Taxonomy

The genus Coua was erected by the Swiss naturalist Heinrich Rudolf Schinz in 1821 with the Cuculus madagascariensis (a synonym of Cuculus gigas) as the type species. [3] [4] The name is from koa, the Malagasy word for the couas. [5]

Species

There are nine extant species placed in the genus: [6]

ImageScientific nameCommon nameDistribution
Running coua (Coua cursor).jpg Coua cursor Running coua Madagascar.
Giant Coua (Coua gigas) (9616274364).jpg Coua gigas Giant coua western and southern Madagascar
Coquerel's Coua RWD3.jpg Coua coquereli Coquerel's coua Madagascar.
Coua serriana Red-breasted coua Madagascar.
Red-fronted Coua - Andasibe - Madagascar MG 0718 (15102020980).jpg Coua reynaudii Red-fronted coua Madagascar.
Red-capped Coua RWD2.jpg Coua ruficeps Red-capped coua Madagascar.
Coua cristata (Hauben-Seidenkuckuck - Crested Coua) - Weltvogelpark Walsrode 2013-08--130718 0206.jpg Coua cristata Crested coua Madagascar.
Coua verreauxi.jpg Coua verreauxi Verreaux's coua Madagascar
Coua caerulea (Blauer Seidenkuckuck - Blue Coua) - Weltvogelpark Walsrode 2013-04.jpg Coua caerulea Blue coua Madagascar.

Fossils and extinct species

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuckoo</span> Family of birds

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-billed cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The yellow-billed cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo family. Common folk names for this bird in the southern United States are rain crow and storm crow. These likely refer to the bird's habit of calling on hot days, often presaging rain or thunderstorms. The genus name is from the Ancient Greek kokkuzo, which means to call like a common cuckoo, and americanus means "of America".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great spotted cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The great spotted cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guinea turaco</span> Species of bird

The Guinea turaco, also known as the green turaco or green lourie, is a species of turaco, a group of African otidimorph birds. It formerly included the Livingstone's, Schalow's, Knysna, black-billed and Fischer's turacos as subspecies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diederik cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The diederik cuckoo, formerly dideric cuckoo or didric cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners and the anis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guira cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The guira cuckoo is a gregarious bird found widely in open and semi-open habitats of northeastern, eastern and southern Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and northeastern Argentina. It is the only species placed in the genus Guira.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mangrove cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The mangrove cuckoo is a species of cuckoo that is native to the Neotropics.

<i>Clamator</i> Genus of birds

Clamator is a genus of large brood-parasitic cuckoos with crests and graduated tails.

<i>Cuculus</i> Genus of birds

Cuculus is a genus of cuckoos which has representatives in most of the Old World, although the greatest diversity is in tropical southern and southeastern Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crested coua</span> Species of bird

The crested coua is a common medium sized bird member of the cuckoo family, Cuculidae. It is endemic to Madagascar, mainly found in the coastal regions of the island. The crested coua is a weak flyer, so it will often be observed hopping from branch to branch in high canopies. It is distinguished mainly by its greenish-grey back, its prominent grey head crest, rufous-coloured breast, white abdomen and bright turquoise and blue patches of bare skin around the eyes. 

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giant coua</span> Species of bird

The giant coua is a bird species from the coua genus in the cuckoo family that is endemic to the dry forests of western and southern Madagascar. It is suggested that couas probably originated from a particular Asian ground-cuckoo. The genus coua contains 10 species, more than any other genus in Madagascar. Although the bird is listed under least concern (LC) in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, it only persists in the biological hot spot of Madagascar, warranting its recognition as a species of conservation concern at the global scale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesser coucal</span> Species of bird

The lesser coucal is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It has a wide distribution range that overlaps with several other similar species. The habitat in which it is found is often marshy land with grass and tree cover. It is distinguished by its smaller size, less prominent bill, pale shaft streaks on the feathers of the head and back. It has a much longer claw on its hind toe and a distinct call. It is also among the few coucals that show season plumage differences but like in other coucals, the sexes cannot be distinguished in the field.

<i>Chrysococcyx</i> Genus of birds

Chrysococcyx is a genus of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shining bronze cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The shining bronze cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae, found in Australia, Indonesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. It was previously also known as Chalcites lucidus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian emerald cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The Asian emerald cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue coua</span> Species of bird

The blue coua is a species of bird in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae. It is endemic to the island of Madagascar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coquerel's coua</span> Species of bird

Coquerel's coua is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It was named in 1867 by the French naturalist Alfred Grandidier in honor of the French navy surgeon and naturalist Charles Coquerel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chestnut-bellied cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The chestnut-bellied cuckoo is a species of bird in the tribe Phaenicophaeini, subfamily Cuculinae of the cuckoo family Cuculidae. It is endemic to Jamaica.

<i>Crinifer</i> Genus of birds

Crinifer is a genus of birds in the turaco family. They are restricted to Africa. Formerly, the genus only contained the plantain-eaters, but in 2021, go-away-birds were merged into the genus.

Coua berthae is an extinct species of coua, a large, mostly terrestrial bird in the cuckoo family, from Madagascar. It was the largest member of its genus, living or extinct. It was named in honour of the Malagasy zoologist Berthe Rakotosamimanana.

References

  1. "Cuculidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  2. Payne, Robert B., and Karen Klitz (1991). The Cuckoos . Oxford University Press. p.  27. ISBN   0-19-850213-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. Cuvier, Georges; Schinz, Heinrich Rudolf (1821). Das Thierreich, eingetheilt nach dem Bau der Thiere als Grundlage ihrer Naturgeschichte und der vergleichenden Anatomie (in German). Vol. 1. Stuttgart und Tübingen: J.G. Cotta'schen Buchhandlung. p. 661.
  4. Peters, James Lee, ed. (1940). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 4. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 64.
  5. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p.  120. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  6. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Turacos, bustards, cuckoos, mesites, sandgrouse". World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  7. Goodman & Ravoavy; Smithsonian Institution (1993). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 106. Smithsonian Libraries. [Washington : Biological Society of Washington]. pp. 26–33.