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Song & Call Comparison
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Song & Call Comparison
Whistling Yellowbill
Chant
Loud, harsh call with penetrating quality; rough resonant notes carrying through dense forest habitat.
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
Whistling Yellowbill
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
Whistling Yellowbill
Plumage
Blue Coua: brilliant turquoise-blue overall; darker wings; bare facial skin; long graduated tail; Madagascar endemic; spectacular blue
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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Whistling Yellowbill (Ceuthmochares australis) — 30–35 cm. Very similar to Chattering Yellowbill — grey plumage; yellow bill; long tail — but distinguished by its melodic whistled song rather than chattering calls. Found in forest and forest edge in East and Southeast Africa from Kenya to Mozambique. Non-parasitic. Insectivore.
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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