Greater Coucal
They are large, crow-like with a long tail and coppery brown wings and
found in wide range of habitats from jungle to cultivation and urban
gardens. They are weak fliers, and are often seen clambering about in
vegetation or walking on the ground as they forage for insects, eggs and
nestlings of other birds.
Local Names : Mahoka (Hindi)
Kalli kaka, Chempakam
(Tamil)
Uppan, Chemboth (Malayalam)
The head is black, upper mantle and underside are black glossed with
purple. The back and wings are chestnut brown. There are no pale shaft
streaks on the coverts. The eyes are ruby red. Juveniles are duller black
with spots on the crown and there are whitish bars on the underside and
tail.
The greater coucal is a large bird which takes a wide range of insects,
caterpillars ,snails, lizards and young mice. They are also known to eat
bird eggs, nestlings, fruits and seeds.
The nest is built mostly by the male over about three to eight days.The
nest is a deep cup with a dome in dense vegetation inside tangles of
creepers, bamboo clump or Pandanus crowns. The typical clutch is 3–5 eggs. The eggs are chalky white. eggs
hatch after 15–16 days of incubation. Both sexes shares all domestic
duties
References
The Book of Indian Birds (Salim Ali)
Wikipedia
Pictures:
Thovampallil House, Chettikulangara, Kerala (2019)
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