The white-necked coucal or pied coucal is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is endemic to the Bismarck Archipelago. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.
Region
Bismarck Archipelago, Southwest Pacific
Typical Environment
Primarily inhabits subtropical and tropical moist lowland forests, including primary rainforest, tall secondary growth, forest edges, and overgrown gardens near villages. Often keeps to dense understory and tangles where it can move quietly on or near the ground. It tolerates selectively logged forest and scrubby regrowth, provided cover is ample. Usually avoids open areas far from cover and is seldom seen in montane habitats.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 900 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The white-necked coucal, also called the pied coucal, is a non-parasitic cuckoo that builds its own nest and rears its young. It is a secretive ground-foraging hunter that helps control insect and small vertebrate populations. Pairs often duet with deep, resonant calls that carry far through the forest.
Temperament
solitary and skulking
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with brief glides
Social Behavior
Usually found alone or in pairs, maintaining territories within dense lowland forest. Builds a domed nest of leaves and stems low in vegetation. Both sexes participate in nest building and care for the young. Courtship often includes duetting and mutual preening within thick cover.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Delivers deep, resonant booms and mellow hoots that carry through the forest, often in rhythmic sequences. Pairs frequently duet with alternating phrases, giving a rolling, hollow quality. Alarm calls are harsher clucks and grating notes.
Plumage
Strikingly pied with a clean white head and neck contrasting against a mostly glossy black body and long, graduated tail; wings show rich chestnut to rufous tones typical of coucals.
Diet
Takes large insects such as grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, and mantises, as well as spiders and snails. Will also seize small vertebrates including lizards, frogs, and nestling birds when available. Forages methodically, pouncing from low perches or stalking prey on the ground and in dense understory.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in thick leaf litter, vine tangles, and along forest edges where cover is abundant. Often hunts near fallen logs, vine-choked thickets, and along overgrown tracks and garden margins.
