Blue-headed Coucal Centropus monachus Scientific name definitions

45–52 cm; male 171 g, female 237 g. Adult blue-glossed black from forehead to upper back; lower back and wings reddish brown; rump, uppertail-coverts and tail unbarred black, tail with greenish or bronze gloss; whitish to pale buff below, darker on flanks; iris red, bill black, feet black. Female larger. Juvenile has crown and neck blackish with buff shaft streaks, wings barred blackish, tail (except central rectrices) barred, throat darker buff, belly pale buff. Race <em>fischeri</em> slightly smaller, back and wings slightly duller (more olive); juvenile darker above.

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Swamps , marshes, papyrus and river banks, forest edge, mesic savannas near water or forest, dense cover, secondary growth, edges of villages and along trails; occurs in wetter habitats than C. senegalensis. Lowlands to 2000 m and 2500 m in Kivu volcanos, and to 2000 m in Kenya, where within the 1000+ mm rainfall region.

A generalist carnivore, diet including insects (mainly grasshoppers and beetles), also snails, nestling birds, bird eggs, lizards, snakes, frogs, mice and rats. Skulks within cover; shy.

Deep and resonant , “water-bottle” and “coo” phrases slower and deeper than those of other coucals. Songs begin with 2 “coo” phrases, pairs often duet; also a barking note and a raucous cackle.