The Philippine coucal is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is endemic to the Philippines. It is an insectivore.
Region
Southeast Asia
Typical Environment
Endemic to the Philippine archipelago, occurring on many larger islands and numerous smaller ones. It favors lowland and foothill habitats with thick understory, including secondary forest, scrub, overgrown clearings, and forest edges. It readily uses human-altered landscapes such as hedgerows, coconut groves, and rice-field margins where cover is available. Mangrove edges and brushy riversides are also frequented.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
Unlike many cuckoos, the Philippine coucal builds its own nest and raises its young rather than parasitizing other birds. It spends much of its time skulking in dense vegetation and often sunbathes with wings spread to regulate temperature and control parasites. Its deep, booming calls are a familiar sound in lowland Philippine countryside. By consuming insects and small vertebrates, it helps control agricultural pests.
Temperament
secretive and skulking
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with brief glides
Social Behavior
Usually seen singly or in pairs, keeping close to dense cover and often moving by clambering rather than flying. It builds a domed nest of grasses or leaves low in shrubs or reeds. Both sexes are believed to share in nesting duties and territory defense.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Gives a series of deep, resonant booms or hollow 'coop-coop-coop' notes that carry far, especially at dawn. Also produces soft clucking and harsh scolding calls when disturbed.
Plumage
Glossy black head, neck, and body with rich rufous-brown wings and a long, graduated, greenish-glossed black tail.
Diet
Primarily hunts large insects such as grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, and crickets taken on or near the ground. It also opportunistically takes small lizards, frogs, and occasionally small birds or eggs. Prey is usually seized with a quick pounce from low perches or by stalking through dense cover.
Preferred Environment
Forages along thickets, hedgerows, and tall grasses at forest edges, plantations, and rice-field margins. Often searches around brush piles and undergrowth where prey is abundant.
