White-throated silk cuckoo
| White-throated silk cuckoo | ||||||||||||
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White-throated silk cuckoo, subspecies Coua ruficeps olivaceiceps |
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| Coua ruficeps | ||||||||||||
| GR Gray , 1846 |
The red-capped coua ( Coua ruficeps ), also Weißkehlcoua called, is one of Madagascar endemic occurring cuckoo the genus coua . The species includes the two subspecies C. r. ruficeps G. R. Gray 1846 and C. r. olivaceiceps ( Sharpe 1873)
features
The white-throated silk cuckoo is about 42 cm long including the control feathers. The white color of the throat gives it its name. The upper plumage is green-brown, the long tail feathers brown to dark purple. The belly is pale reddish brown to white, the chest pale purple. The blue colored, featherless eye ring, which is bordered by black feathers, is striking. The nominate form has a reddish-brown colored forehead and hood . In the subspecies C. r. olivaceiceps , these areas are colored green-brown. The long legs and the beak are black. There is no such thing as sexual dimorphism .
distribution and habitat
The white-throated silkworm, like all other silkworms, is endemic to Madagascar . The subspecies C. r. ruficeps occurs in south-west Madagascar south of Mahajanga to around Morondava . The distribution area of the subspecies C. r. olivaceiceps joins south of Morondava as far as the region of the Tsimanampetsotsa National Park . The red-capped coua preferred habitats such as dry savannahs , deserts and xeric shrublands , secondary savannas , gallery forests and lighter woods. Due to the frequency of the species, the white-throated silky cuckoo is classified as "not endangered" by the IUCN .
Way of life
The white-throated silk cuckoo usually moves on the ground. Alone, as a couple or in a family group, he usually looks for food on the ground or in the lower vegetation layers , which consists of grasshoppers , beetles , berries and seeds . If the white-throated silk cuckoo appears sympatric with other types of silk cuckoo such as the pointed-head silk cuckoo or the Coquerel silk cuckoo , it moves almost exclusively on the ground. In case of danger he usually flees running, less often flying.
Systematics
The subspecies C. r. olivaceiceps was led as a separate species under the name Sericosomus olivaceiceps . Due to morphological differences and widely differing chants , the subspecies are sometimes treated as two separate species, for example by the IUCN. The subspecies C. r. olivaceiceps is then listed as Coua olivaceiceps .
Etymology and history of research
George Robert Gray described the white-throated silk cuckoo under the current name Coua ruficeps . He named Madagascar as the place where it was found. David William Mitchell (1813-1859) supplied plate 115 with the illustration of the cuckoo for Gray's work. »Coua« is a Malagasy onomatopoeia for the call of the pointed-headed silk cuckoo ( Coua cristata ), which sounds like »Koa«. Louis Pierre Vieillot called this Le Coulicou Coua (Coccyzus cristatus) in 1817 , but was not sure whether Coua was derived from his reputation or some other characteristic. It was Heinrich Rudolf Schinz who in 1821 introduced the genus of the silk cuckoo for the giant silk cuckoo ( Coua gigas ), which was later also added to the white-throated silk cuckoo. The specific epithet »ruficeps« is made up of the Latin »rufus« for »red« and »-ceps, caput« for »-headed, head«. "Olivaceiceps" is a word from "olivaceus" for "olive-colored" and also "-ceps, caput" for "-headed, head".
literature
- Johannes Erritzøe , Clive F. Mann, Frederik Brammer, Richard A. Fuller: Cuckoos of the World (Helm Identification Guides). Christopher Helm Publishers Ltd, London 2012, ISBN 978-0-7136-6034-0 .
- Robert B. Payne: The Cuckoos (= Bird Families of the World. No. 15). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2005, ISBN 0-19-850213-3 .
- James A. Jobling: Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 .
- George Robert Gray: The genera of birds: comprising their generic characters, a notice of the habits of each genus, and an extensive list of species refered to their several genera . tape 2 . Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, London 1849 ( gallica.bnf.fr [accessed January 26, 2015] plus panel CXV by David William Mitchell).
- Richard Bowdler Sharpe: On the Cuculidae of the Ethiopian Region . In: Proceedings of the Scientific Meetings of the Zoological Society of London for the Year 1873 . 1873, p. 578-624 ( biodiversitylibrary.org [accessed January 26, 2015]).
- Louis Pierre Vieillot: Nouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle, appliquée aux arts, à l'agriculture, à l'économie rurale et domestique, à la médecine, etc. Par une société de naturalistes et d'agriculteurs . tape 8 . Deterville, Paris 1817 ( biodiversitylibrary.org [accessed January 26, 2015]).
- Heinrich Rudolf Schinz: The animal kingdom subdivided according to the structure of animals: as the basis of their natural history and comparative anatomy . tape 1 . Cotta, Stuttgart; Tübingen 1821 ( reader.digitale-sammlungen.de [accessed on January 26, 2015]).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b George Robert Gray, p. 453.
- ^ Richard Bowdler Sharpe, p. 615.
- ^ IOC World Bird List Hoatzin, turacos & cuckoos
- ↑ a b c Erritzoe et al. P. 217.
- ↑ a b Erritzoe et al. P. 218
- ↑ Coua ruficeps in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.3. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
- ↑ Coua olivaceiceps in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.3. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
- ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 120.
- ↑ Louis Pierre Vieillot, p. 264.
- ^ Heinrich Rudolf Schinz, p. 661.
- ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 341.
- ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 281.
Web links
- White-throated silk cuckoo ( Coua ruficeps ) at Avibase; accessed on October 12, 2014.