Soft, ventriloquial whistled phrase; clear pure notes given quietly and deceptively from dense tropical thicket.
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Geographic Range & Migration
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Conservation Status Comparison
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حالة الحفاظ
Least Concern
Coppery-tailed Coucal
Least Concern
Lesser Ground-cuckoo
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Identification Tips — How to Tell Them Apart
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How to Tell Them Apart
Coppery-tailed Coucal
الريش
Green-billed Coucal: green bill contrasting dark head; glossy black-brown above; rufous wings; pale below; long dark tail; red eye
Lesser Ground-cuckoo
الريش
Greater Roadrunner: boldly streaked brown above; white-cream below with dark streaks; long tail; shaggy crest; bare facial skin; fast runner
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About Each Bird (Descriptions)
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Coppery-tailed Coucal (Centropus cupreicaudus) — 45–50 cm. Large; chestnut back; black head; tail with coppery-bronze gloss; stout bill. Found in rank grass, papyrus, and dense scrub of Central to southern Africa. Non-parasitic. Omnivore; associated with floodplain habitats. Near Threatened due to wetland drainage.
Lesser Ground-cuckoo (Morococcyx erythropygus) — 28 cm. Brown above; chestnut rump; whitish underparts; bare blue orbital skin. Inhabits dry and semi-arid scrub from Mexico to Costa Rica. Non-parasitic; builds its own nest in low shrubs. Runs on the ground hunting large insects, lizards, and amphibians. Monotypic genus endemic to Mesoamerica.
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Related Comparisons
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More Birds in Family
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