Couas are large, mostly terrestrial birds of the cuckoo family, endemic to the island of Madagascar.
| Couas | |
|---|---|
| |
| Coquerel's coua (Coua coquereli) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Cuculiformes |
| Family: | Cuculidae |
| Genus: | Coua Schinz, 1821 |
| Type species | |
| Cuculus madagascariensis[1] Gmelin, 1788
| |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
| |
| range of genus | |
Couas are reminiscent of African turacos when walking along tree branches, and they likewise feature brightly coloured bare skin around the eyes. Some resemble coucals in their habit of clambering through jungle while foraging, while the arboreal species move between tree canopies with gliding flight. Four species have been recorded in rainforests while the remaining six are found in the dry forests of western and southern Madagascar.
They have large feet, with a reversible third toe like all cuckoos. Their long tibia suggest a relationship with the Carpococcyx ground-cuckoos of Asia, a genus with similar nestlings. Consequently, they are sometimes united in the subfamily Couinae.[2] Couas build their own nests and lay white eggs. Couas' calls are a short series of evenly-spaced notes, which are sometimes answered by other individuals.
Taxonomy
editThe genus Coua was erected by the Swiss naturalist Heinrich Rudolf Schinz in 1821 with the Cuculus madagascariensis (a synonym of Cuculus gigas) as the type species.[3][4] The name is from koa, the Malagasy word for the couas.[5]
Species
editThere are ten extant species placed in the genus:[6]
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) |
Coua cursor | Running coua | Madagascar. |
_(9616274364).jpg) |
Coua gigas | Giant coua | western and southern Madagascar |
 |
Coua coquereli | Coquerel's coua | Madagascar. |
 |
Coua serriana | Red-breasted coua | Madagascar. |
.jpg) |
Coua reynaudii | Red-fronted coua | Madagascar. |
| Coua ruficeps | Red-capped coua | Madagascar. | |
 |
Coua olivaceiceps | Olive-capped coua | Madagascar. |
_-_Weltvogelpark_Walsrode_2013-08%E2%80%94130718_0206.jpg) |
Coua cristata | Crested coua | Madagascar. |
 |
Coua verreauxi | Verreaux's coua | Madagascar |
_-_Weltvogelpark_Walsrode_2013-04.jpg) |
Coua caerulea | Blue coua | Madagascar. |
Fossils and extinct species
edit- Ancient coua, Coua primaeva – prehistoric
- Bertha's coua, Coua berthae – only known from Holocene fossil remains[7]
- Delalande's coua, or the snail-eating coua Coua delalandei – extinct (late 19th century)
References
edit- ^ "Cuculidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
- ^ Payne, Robert B., and Karen Klitz (1991). The Cuckoos. Oxford University Press. p. 27. ISBN 0-19-850213-3.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Cuvier, Georges; Schinz, Heinrich Rudolf (1821). Das Thierreich, eingetheilt nach dem Bau der Thiere als Grundlage ihrer Naturgeschichte und der vergleichenden Anatomie (in German). Vol. 1. Stuttgart und Tübingen: J.G. Cotta'schen Buchhandlung. p. 661.
- ^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1940). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 4. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 64.
- ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2024). "Turacos, bustards, cuckoos, mesites, sandgrouse". IOC World Bird List Version 14.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
- ^ Goodman & Ravoavy; Smithsonian Institution (1993). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 106. Smithsonian Libraries. [Washington : Biological Society of Washington]. pp. 26–33.
- Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands, Sinclair and Langrand, 1998. ISBN 1-86872-035-7