The black coucal is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It has a wide distribution in Africa south of the Sahara.
Region
Sub-Saharan Africa
Typical Environment
Occurs widely but patchily in seasonally wet grasslands, floodplains, and marshy savannas from East to south-central Africa. It prefers tall, dense grasses near standing or slow-moving water and is also found in rice fields and fallow, overgrown farmland. The species is tied to areas with recent rains and lush ground cover, shifting locally as habitats dry out. It avoids closed forests and very arid open country. Nests are placed low and concealed in thick grass clumps.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2000 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The black coucal is an unusual cuckoo with reversed sex roles: females are more brightly colored and polyandrous, while males build the nest, incubate, and rear the young. It favors tall, rank grasslands and floodplains, where it often skulks and makes only short, low flights. Its rich, bubbling calls carry over wet savannas after rains. It performs local, rain-driven movements across sub-Saharan Africa.
Temperament
secretive and skulking
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats; low, fluttering flights over grass
Social Behavior
Exhibits sex-role reversal: females advertise and may mate with multiple males, while males build the domed grass nest, incubate, and care for chicks. Pairs or small groups are most often seen in dense grass, where they run rather than fly. Nests are well hidden low in thick vegetation.
Migratory Pattern
Partial migrant
Song Description
Delivers a rich, bubbling series of notes that rise and fall, often given after rains over wet grasslands. Calls can include repeated ‘bu-bu-bu’ or ‘coop-coop’ phrases, sometimes in responsive bouts between nearby birds.
Plumage
Mostly glossy black body with rich rufous-chestnut wings and mantle; long, graduated black tail with a greenish sheen. Juveniles and non-breeding birds can appear browner with fine barring and less gloss, aiding camouflage in grass. Bill is stout and slightly decurved.
Diet
Primarily hunts large insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, caterpillars, and mantises. Also takes spiders and occasionally small vertebrates like frogs, lizards, and nestling birds. Prey is seized on the ground or from low vegetation and dispatched with the strong, decurved bill.
Preferred Environment
Feeds within tall, dense grasses, reedbeds, and the edges of marshes and floodplains. Often forages by moving quietly through cover, pausing to pounce on disturbed prey. Will use rice paddies and overgrown fields when available.
