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A coucal is one of about 30 species of birds in the cuckoo family. All of them belong in the subfamily Centropodinae and the genus Centropus. Unlike many Old World cuckoos, coucals are not brood parasites. On the other hand they do have their own reproductive peculiarity: all members of the genus are to varying degrees sex-role reversed so that the smaller male provides most of the parental care. At least one coucal species, the Black Coucal, is polyandrous.(Andersson 1995) Recent DNA evidence[citation needed] suggests that they should be raised to family status, as Centropodidae.
[edit] Species
- Bay Coucal, Centropus celebensis
- Rufous Coucal, Centropus unirufus
- Black-faced Coucal, Centropus melanops
- Sunda Coucal, Centropus nigrorufus
- Buff-headed Coucal, Centropus milo
- Goliath Coucal, Centropus goliath
- Violaceous Coucal, Centropus violaceus
- Greater Black Coucal, Centropus menbeki
- Pied Coucal, Centropus ateralbus
- Pheasant Coucal, Centropus phasianinus
- Kai Coucal, Centropus spilopterus
- Lesser Black Coucal, Centropus bernsteini
- Biak Coucal, Centropus chalybeus
- Short-toed Coucal, Centropus rectunguis
- Black-hooded Coucal, Centropus steerii
- Greater Coucal, Centropus sinensis
- Andaman Coucal, Centropus andamanensis
- Philippine Coucal, Centropus viridis
- Madagascar Coucal, Centropus toulou
- Aldabra Coucal, Centropus toulou insularis
- Assumption Island Coucal, Centropus toulou assumptionis - doubtfully distinct; extinct (c.1920s)
- Black Coucal, Centropus grillii
- Green-billed Coucal, Centropus chlororhynchus
- Lesser Coucal, Centropus bengalensis
- Black-throated Coucal, Centropus leucogaster
- Gabon Coucal, Centropus anselli
- Blue-headed Coucal, Centropus monachus
- Coppery-tailed Coucal, Centropus cupreicaudus
- Senegal Coucal, Centropus senegalensis
- White-browed Coucal, Centropus superciliosus
- Burchell's Coucal, Centropus burchelli
- Centropus collosus known from the quaternary Green Waterhole Cave, Tantanoola, South Australia.
[edit] References
- Andersson, Malte (1995): Evolution of reversed sex roles, sexual size dimorphism, and mating system in coucals (Centropodidae, Aves). Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 54(2): 173–181. HTML abstract
