Coracina panayensis
The Visayan Cuckooshrike (*Coracina panayensis*) is a striking medium-sized passerine endemic to the Visayan Islands of the central Philippines. This elegant songbird typically measures around 23-25 cm in length, characterized by its predominantly lead-grey plumage. Males boast a deep grey body, contrasting sharply with a pure white abdomen and undertail coverts, while their primary flight feathers are conspicuously black, providing a distinct field mark in flight. Females often exhibit a sli...
Inhabits primary and mature secondary lowland and montane forests, favoring the forest interior and canopy up to elevations of approximately 1,500 meters.
Primarily insectivorous, feeding on caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers, and other invertebrates, occasionally supplementing with small fruits. Forages by gleaning from foliage and branches, and making aerial sallies.
Typically observed singly, in pairs, or occasionally joining mixed-species foraging flocks in the mid-canopy to sub-canopy layers of the forest. These cuckooshrikes are diurnal, actively foraging during the day and roosting silently within dense foliage at night. Their foraging strategy primarily...
The Visayan Cuckooshrike is strictly endemic to the central Philippine Visayan Islands, maintaining a resident status across its distribution. Its primary range includes the larger islands of Panay, Negros, Cebu, and Masbate, where suitable forest habitats persist. Smaller populations are also fo...
Least Concern
- The Visayan Cuckooshrike is one of only two cuckooshrike species endemic to the Philippines, the other being the Black-bibbed Cuckooshrike. - Despite its name, cuckooshrikes are not closely related to cuckoos, but their somewhat similar grey plumage and arboreal habits led to the common name. -...