Centropus senegalensis
The Senegal Coucal (Centropus senegalensis) is a distinctive, medium-sized member of the cuckoo family, renowned for its striking appearance and unique vocalizations across sub-Saharan Africa. Measuring 35-42 cm in length and weighing between 150-250 grams, it features a glossy black head, neck, and upper chest, providing a sharp contrast to its rich chestnut-brown wings and mantle. Its underparts transition to a rufous-buff, becoming lighter on the belly, while its tail is dark blackish-brow...
Primarily found in diverse open habitats, including savannas, grasslands, shrublands, agricultural lands, and forest edges, typically below 2,000 meters elevation. It favors areas with dense undergrowth and thickets, providing essential cover for foraging and roosting.
Feeds primarily on a wide variety of large insects (e.g., locusts, beetles, caterpillars), other invertebrates, and small vertebrates such as lizards, snakes, rodents, and bird eggs or nestlings. It forages mainly by gleaning and searching on the ground or in low vegetation.
Diurnal in its activity, the Senegal Coucal is predominantly terrestrial, often observed walking and running through dense grass and shrubbery, or gleaning prey from low vegetation. Pairs are highly territorial, defending their breeding grounds year-round through frequent calls and occasional phy...
The Senegal Coucal is widely distributed across a broad band of sub-Saharan Africa, spanning from the Atlantic coast eastward to the Horn of Africa. Its primary breeding range extends from Senegal and Mauritania in the west, through the Sahel region to Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, and south into...
Least Concern
- Unlike most cuckoos, the Senegal Coucal is not a brood parasite; it builds its own nest and raises its own young. - Its distinctive call, often described as sounding like water being poured from a bottle, is one of the most recognizable sounds in its African habitat. - The species has a remarka...