Blue Malkoha Ceuthmochares aereus Scientific name definitions

33 cm; male 54–74 g, female 52–80 g. An arboreal, slender-bodied and somewhat squirrel-like cuckoo, with a very long graduated tail lacking any white spotting. Adult of race <em>aereus</em> on average marginally smaller than flavirostris; crown and nape dark grey, becoming dark grey glossed greenish blue, blue or violet on upperparts, wings and tail, grey below , becoming steadily dark from breast through belly to undertail-coverts; bare orbital skin yellow, tinged green closest to eyes  , irides red or brown, bill yellow  (black near base of culmen) and legs and feet black. Juvenile is similar to adult, but has narrower rectrices, a narrow bill initially dark grey, becoming horn and then pale yellow with maturity, and brown irides. Race <em>flavirostris</em> glossed violet above  and on tail, with perhaps more obvious transition on underparts between mid-grey breast and slate-grey belly.

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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.

Forest , upper canopy of old secondary evergreen forest and riverine forest, and forest edge, where mainly active 8–30 m above ground, in tall dense thickets, tangled creepers and lianas; also coastal scrub. Lowlands to 2300 m in Uganda, generally lower in W & S, but to almost 1300 m in Zambia and 1600 m in Cameroon.

Resident, though observed seasonally Nov–Jun in forest islands in Gambia (see also Status and Conservation). Purported to be locally a nocturnal migrant along coast in Nigeria, and in same country there is a recent record from the Jos Plateau, which is outside the known range. Single record from SW Niger.

Insects, including caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, leaf-hoppers, winged termites, bees, spiders; tree frogs, slugs, fruit, seeds, leaves. Moves by short hops, balances with its long tail, searches through tangled creepers, turning and seizing an insect; sometimes accompanies mixed-species flocks of birds or squirrels, using them as beaters to flush insects, which it then seizes. Occurs singly, in pairs or in small groups of 3–5.

Song consists of a series of high notes descending  in pitch and staccato, or increasing in tempo and run into a trill or rattle, first a series of short squeaks, “tsik-tsik”, then loud popping notes, with whinnying “wipwipwip” at end, the whole rendered “kuk, kuk, kuk kuk kukkukkukkukkukkukkkkkkkrrrrrr”, lasting c. 12 seconds, likened to a Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) and sometimes remaining on one pitch throughout or lacking introductory squeaky notes. Call a mournful “kou-lee, kou-lee” like a curlew (Numenius) or stone-curlew (Burhinus); also a squirrel-like scolding “tsik-tsik” at rate of c. 2 notes/second, and muffled “ououaaaaaaaa”. Frequently calls while foraging. Apparently no real differences in songs between nominate and race flavirostris.

Laying dates Mar and May in Ghana (with nestbuilding observed Dec), Dec in Ivory Coast, Oct–Dec and Feb in Sierra Leone, Jun and Aug in Nigeria, Nov in W Cameroon, Jun, Dec and Feb in S Congo, Jul in Uelle, May and Nov in Angola, Nov in Tanzania, and Dec in Zambia; in Libera, species calls mainly Aug–Oct and Mar–May, with young seen with adults in Oct and Jan. Nest an open mass of sticks, sometimes domed (Uganda), usually unlined, 2–5 m above ground in dense vegetation. Eggs usually two (1–4), white to creamy, stained, sometimes chalky; 27–31·9 mm × 21–25·9 mm. Both parents feed young, which are darker than adult with grey of head and neck washed olive-green, and wings and tail dark bluish green, but incubation and fledging periods are unknown.

Not globally threatened. Secretive behaviour of this forest and thicket cuckoo limits frequency of observations, but is considered more or less common in SW Senegal, Bijagos archipelago (Guinea-Bissau), Liberia, Ivory Coast (where protected areas known to support the species include Parc National du Banco and the Forêt Classée de l’Anguédédou), Macenta Prefecture (Guinea), Togo, Bioko, SE Nigeria, Gabon (where population density in NE estimated at c. 15–20 pairs/km²) and parts of Congo. Widespread and reasonably common throughout S two-thirds of Ghana , where known from numerous protected areas including Kyabobo National Park and Chai River Forest Reserve; locally common near Oussouye in Parc Nacional de Basse-Casamance in S Senegal; common in all kinds of forest in Sierra Leone. Known from several protected areas in S & W Uganda, among them Kibale National Park and Budongo Forest Reserve, with densities in the latter estimated at 7·6 individuals/km² and 13·1 individuals/km² in unlogged and logged areas, respectively. Formerly scarce in Gambia, but has declined and now only regarded as a vagrant. Considered uncommon in S Sudan and inexplicably local in Zambia.