Deep, hollow resonant call; powerful low notes carrying through dense tropical forest in Southeast Asia.
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Geographic Range & Migration
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Conservation Status Comparison
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Conservation Status
Least Concern
Rufous-winged Ground-cuckoo
Least Concern
Long-tailed Koel
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Identification Tips — How to Tell Them Apart
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How to Tell Them Apart
Rufous-winged Ground-cuckoo
Plumage
Pheasant Coucal: dark glossy black head and body; rufous-brown wings; strongly barred dark tail; reddish eye; terrestrial habits
Long-tailed Koel
Plumage
White-eared Bronze-cuckoo: white ear patch; bronze-green above; barred white below; distinctive white ear spot; small cuckoo
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About Each Bird (Descriptions)
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Rufous-winged Ground-cuckoo (Neomorphus rufipennis) — 46–50 cm. Bronze-green above; rufous wing panels; pale buff below. Found in humid forest of Venezuela, Guyana, and northern Brazil. Non-parasitic; follows army ants. Insectivore and small vertebrate predator. Rarely encountered; Near Threatened.
Long-tailed Koel (Urodynamis taitensis) — 40–43 cm; tail up to 22 cm. Slender; brown above with white spots; pale underparts with brown streaking; very long pointed tail. Migrates from New Zealand and Pacific islands to Melanesia and Micronesia. Brood parasite targeting reed-warblers. Frugivore and insectivore.
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Related Comparisons
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More Birds in Family
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