- Centropus cupreicaudus
Identification
42-50cm
- Violet glossed black upperback and crown
- Violet gloss to head and neck
- Dark brown wing and wing coverts
- Rufous rump
- Black, finely barred, uppertail coverts
- Copper glossed brown tail
- Cream underparts
- Red iris
- Black bill and feet
Distribution
Tropical Africa: Zambia, Caprivi (north-western Namibia), northern Botswana, Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe), Tanzania, southern Democratic Republic of Congo, and Malawi.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Subspecies songweensis is generally considered invalid[2].
Habitat
Wetlands with reeds and other tall growth, swamps and marshes.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes snails, snakes, grasshoppers, fish, rodents and waterweed.
Breeding
A spherical nest is built from grass, twigs and straw; it is lined with leaves. The clutch consists of 2-4 white eggs.
References
- Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
- Avibase
- The Cuckoos By Robert B. Payne, Michael D. Sorenson, Karen Klitz
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Coppery-tailed Coucal. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Coppery-tailed_Coucal
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
