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Song & Call Comparison
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Song & Call Comparison
Blue Coua
Chant
Deep, resonant call with hollow quality; powerful notes carrying across broad dense tropical 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
Blue Coua
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
Blue Coua
Plumage
Bernstein's Coucal: dark brown above; rufous wings; pale buff below; long dark tail; red eye; Sulawesi island endemic species
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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Blue Coua (Coua caerulea) — 48–50 cm. Almost entirely brilliant ultramarine blue with a bare blue facial patch; long tail. Inhabits humid eastern rainforest of Madagascar. Non-parasitic; builds its own nest. Omnivore; eats insects, chameleons, fruits, and seeds. One of Madagascar's most strikingly coloured birds.
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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