|
Pheasant Coucal Centropus phasianinus
|
 |
Queensland, Australia
November 2010
The Pheasant Coucal is distributed in New Guinea, Timor and Australia. See
the distribution map at Birdlife International. They are found mainly in dense vegetation along rivers,
swamps, roadsides and gardens.
|
 |
In breeding plumage, as in photo 1, the head, neck and
underparts are black with shiny feather shafts while the remaining upperparts are rufous brown with
black and cream barring. The tail is long and black with buffy bars and with a white tip while the
bill is black and the eye is red in colour. In non-breeding plumage (photos 2 and 3), the head,
neck and underparts are brown with buffy streaks, the tail is brown with buffy bars, the bill is
horn coloured and the iris is pale brown to whitish.
|
 |
The vocalisation is often a duet of a series of hollow, booming
notes falling and then rising in pitch.
|
|
|
|
|
