The Senegal coucal is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners and the anis. It is a medium-sized member of its genus and is found in lightly-wooded country and savannah in central and southern Africa.
Region
West and Central Africa
Typical Environment
Occurs widely across lightly wooded savannas, thorn scrub, riparian thickets, and tall grasslands, often near water. It frequents farm edges, fallow fields, and overgrown gardens, provided there is dense cover for skulking. The species avoids unbroken dense forest and true desert but thrives in mosaics of shrubs and grasses. It adapts well to human-altered landscapes with hedges and reedbeds.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1800 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
Unlike many cuckoos, the Senegal coucal builds its own nest and raises its young rather than brood-parasitizing other birds. It often sunbathes with wings spread and tail fanned to regulate temperature and feather condition. Pairs frequently duet with deep, bubbling calls that carry far across savanna and scrub. By eating locusts and other large insects, it can help reduce agricultural pests.
Temperament
secretive and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats followed by brief glides
Social Behavior
Usually seen in pairs that maintain territories year-round. Both sexes build a domed nest concealed in dense vegetation and share incubation and chick-rearing. The species spends much time on or near the ground, moving with deliberate, cat-like stalking through cover.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Gives a series of deep, bubbling ‘coop-coop-coop’ notes that accelerate and then slow, often delivered as a duet. Calls are most frequent at dawn, after rain, and during the breeding season.
Plumage
Glossy black head and nape with a long, black, green-glossed tail; rich rufous-chestnut wings contrast with creamy buff to whitish underparts.
Diet
Takes large insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, and caterpillars, as well as spiders and snails. Also preys on small vertebrates including frogs, lizards, small snakes, and occasionally the eggs or nestlings of other birds. Fruits and berries are taken opportunistically.
Preferred Environment
Forages in tall grasses, tangles, reedbeds, and shrub thickets, often near wetlands or field margins. Hunts by stalking and pouncing from low perches or the ground, frequently gleaning prey from foliage.
