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Song & Call Comparison
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Song & Call Comparison
Lesser Ground-cuckoo
Song
Soft, ventriloquial whistled phrase; clear pure notes given quietly and deceptively from dense tropical thicket.
Yellow-billed Malkoha
Song
Loud, far-carrying plaintive whistle; pure melodic notes audible through open tropical scrub habitat.
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Geographic Range & Migration
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Conservation Status Comparison
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Conservation Status
Least Concern
Lesser Ground-cuckoo
Least Concern
Yellow-billed Malkoha
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Identification Tips — How to Tell Them Apart
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How to Tell Them Apart
Lesser Ground-cuckoo
Plumage
Greater Roadrunner: boldly streaked brown above; white-cream below with dark streaks; long tail; shaggy crest; bare facial skin; fast runner
Yellow-billed Malkoha
Plumage
Reynaud's Coua: gray-brown above; white below with rufous flanks; bare blue facial skin; long dark tail; Madagascar forest endemic
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About Each Bird (Descriptions)
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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.
Yellow-billed Malkoha (Rhamphococcyx calyorhynchus) — 45–50 cm. Bronze-green above; chestnut-red underparts; yellow bill; bare red orbital skin; long tail. Endemic to Sulawesi and nearby islands in primary and secondary forest. Non-parasitic. Insectivore.
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Related Comparisons
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More Birds in Family
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