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Centropus superciliosus
(White-browed coucal)
Gestreepte vleiloerie [Afrikaans]; Wenkbrauwspoorkoekoek
[Dutch]; Coucal à sourcils blancs [French]; Weißbrauen-spornkuckuck [German]
Life
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Opisthokonta
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Deuterostomia > Chordata >
Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates) > Gnathostomata (jawed
vertebrates) > Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class:
Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned
fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial
vertebrates) > Tetrapoda
(four-legged vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota >
Reptilia (reptiles) >
Romeriida > Diapsida > Archosauromorpha > Archosauria >
Dinosauria
(dinosaurs) > Saurischia > Theropoda (bipedal predatory dinosaurs) >
Coelurosauria > Maniraptora >Aves
(birds) > Order: Cuculiformes
> Family: Centropidae
The White-browed coucal is fairly common in Zimbabwe,
Botswana and Mozambique, living in thick vegetation. It feeds on a wide a wide
variety of animals, such as mammals, birds and insects. The nest is large sphere
with a side entrance, made of grass blades or stems. It lays 3-5 eggs, which are
incubated by both sexes, for 14-16 days. For the first three days of their life,
the chicks are brooded by one parent, and fed by the other, after which both the
parents do the hunting. The brood leave the nest at 18-20 days old, the
fledgling period has not been studied.
Distribution and habitat
Fairly common in the northern
parts of southern Africa, being found in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique and a
very small population in Limpopo Province. It prefers to live in reedbeds,
seasona pans, thickets with dense grass, usually near water.
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Distribution of White-browed coucal in southern Africa,
based on statistical smoothing of the records from first SA Bird Atlas
Project (©
Animal Demography unit, University of
Cape Town; smoothing by Birgit Erni and Francesca Little). Colours range
from dark blue (most common) through to yellow (least common).
See here for the latest distribution
from the SABAP2. |
Food
Feeds on a wide variety of animals,
including insects, small mammals and birds. It forages in thick vegetation,
sometimes flying down to the ground to pick up a prey item. It often forages
very close to fires, feeding on fleeing animals. The following food items have
been recorded in its diet:
- Invertebrates
- Small birds up to the size of
doves, as well as nestlings
- Mice
- Reptiles
- Tree frogs
Breeding
- The nest is a large, scruffy sphere, with a side
entrance and entrance ramp, built of grass blades and stems, and lined with
leaves and roots. It is normally placed 0.5-10m above ground, in reeds,
bushes or trees.
- Egg-laying season is normally from September-March.
- It lays 3-5 eggs, which, starting with the first egg, are incubated for
14-16 days. Incubation is done by both sexes, with the male doing most of
the work.
- For the first three days of their life, the chicks are brooded by one
parent, and fed by the other, after which both the parents do the hunting.
The brood leave the nest at 18-20 days old, the fledgling period has not
been studied.
Threats
Not threatened.
References
-
Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ and Ryan PG (eds) 2005. Roberts
- Birds of southern Africa, VIIth ed. The Trustees of the John Voelcker
Bird Book Fund, Cape Town.
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