Crested Coua Coua cristata Scientific name definitions

This, the most widespread of the couas, is represented by four subspecies, although one or two of these might be better treated as separate species, and one (which is possibly now extinct) is known solely from the unique type specimen. The Crested Coua is, as indicated by its name, notably crested, and the upperparts are generally gray, with a long deeply-colored and white-tipped tail. The otherwise bland-looking face is relieved by the strikingly-colored bare skin around the eye. These birds are very vocal, and regularly raises their crest while calling. The species takes a wide variety of foods, including many types of insects, as well as some seeds and fruits, flower buds, small vertebrates, perhaps other birds’ eggs (although there are no recent reports of such behavior), and even resin from trees. Given its large range, it is unsurprising that this species overlaps with several other couas, including Red-breasted Coua (C. serriana) and Red-fronted Coua (C. reynaudii) in Madagascar’s humid eastern forests, both of which are exclusively terrestrial (Crested is mainly arboreal), as well as Blue Coua (C. caerulea) in the same region (another arboreal species). In the west of the island, Crested Coua also overlaps in range with Giant Coua (C. gigas), Coquerel’s Coua (C. coquereli), Running Coua (C. cursor), and Red-capped Coua (C. ruficeps), all of which are primarily terrestrial, and with Verreaux’s Coua (C. verreauxi), which is primarily arboreal, but also forages on the ground.