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Song & Call Comparison
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Song & Call Comparison
Black-billed Coucal
Chant
Loud, clear whistled call with carrying quality; rich musical notes audible through dense humid forest.
Lesser Ground-cuckoo
Chant
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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Statut de conservation
Least Concern
Black-billed 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
Black-billed Coucal
Plumage
White-browed Coucal: white supercilium stripe; brown-streaked above; rufous wings; pale buff below; long dark tail; red eye
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
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About Each Bird (Descriptions)
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Black-billed Coucal (Centropus bernsteini) — 40–44 cm. Rufous-chestnut back and wings; black head and underparts; all-black bill. Restricted to northern and western New Guinea in lowland forest and scrub. Non-parasitic. Omnivore.
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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