Tag Archives: Cuculidae

Nannococcyx psix Olson

Saint Helena Cuckoo (Nannococcyx psix)  

This somewhat enigmatic species was described in 1975 on the basis of a single subfossil bone, a right humerus that is lacking the distal end.

This single bone, however, is enough to know that this must have been an extremely small species, basically smaller than any other cuckoo species; it is still possible that it had reduced wings like so many island endemics, and that it therefor was not really that tiny after all.

The Saint Helena Cuckoo disappeared shortly after the first people set their feet onto the island in 1502, mostly due to the habitat destruction by deforestation. [1]

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Up to now, there is not a single record of any passerine bird from Saint Helena, thus the endemic cuckoo species may not have been a brood parasite; however, it is quite possible that any former passerine inhabitants might have gone extinct without leaving any traces of their former existence.

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References:  

[1] S. L. Olson: Paleornithology of St. Helena Island, south Atlantic Ocean. Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology 23. 1975  

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edited: 31.05.2021

Coua delalandei (Temminck)

Delalande’s Coua; Snail-eating Coua (Coua delalandei)

The genus Coua consists of 11 species including severeal subspecies. All of them without exception live in Madagascar. The German name ‘Seidenkuckuck’ (silk cuckoo) relates to their plumage, which indeed shows a very fine, silky gloss.  

Delalande’s Coua, with a full length of about 60 cm, was the largest member of its genus surviving into historical times. It lived in the dense rain forests of the island of Nosy Boraha (Île Saint Marie) offshore Madagascar’s northeast coast.  

Unfortunately there is not much known about the live of this species. It is known however, that it stayed on the forest floor most of the time and that its preffered food were snails. Actually the Malagasy name ‘Famakisifotra’ translated into English means something like ‘snail crusher’.  

The main reason for the extinction of this species is supposed to have been the hunting by the native people, who caught the birds mainly because of their beuatiful feathers.  

The last sighting of this beautiful species happened in the year 1834.

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References:

[1] Dieter Luther: Die ausgestorbenen Vögel der Welt. Westarp Wissenschaften 1986 
[2] Errol Fuller: Extinct Birds. Penguin Books (England) 1987

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Depiction from ‘Alfred Grandidier: Histoire Physique, Naturelle es Politique de Madagascar. Paris: à l’imprimerie Nationale 1876’  

(public domain)

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edited: 27.11.2018

Coua berthae Goodman & Ravoavy

Berthe’s Coua (Coua berthae)

This species is known from subfossil remains dating to an Holocene age and was described in 1993.

Berthe’s Coua was the largest member of its genus, it may have reached a size of about 80 cm, making it 25% larger than the recent Giant Coua (Coua gigas (Boddaert)) (see photo), which is the largest living member of its genus today.

The species was very likely a bad flyer and may indeed have largely been restricted tot he forest floor, where it was an easy victim to early human hunters.

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References:

[1] Steven M. Goodman;  Florent Ravoavy: Identification of bird subfossils from cave surface deposits at Anjohibe, Madagascar, with a description of a new giant Coua (Cuculidae: Couinae). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 106(1): 24-33. 1993

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Giant Coua (Coua gigas)

Photo: Dick Daniels 
http://carolinabirds.org

(under creative commons license (3.0))
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0

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edited: 27.11.2018

Centropus toulou ssp. assumptionis Nicoll

Assumption Coucal (Centropus toulou ssp. assumptionis)  

The Malagasy Coucal (Centropus toulou (Müller)) occurs all over Madagascar, while two additional subspecies are known to inhabit some of the islands of the so-called Aldabra group of the Seychelles Islands, the Aldabra atoll and Assumption Island.

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The subspecies that once inhabited the small islet of Assumption was originally described in 1906 as a full species. The discoverer of that form, M. J. Nicholl, noted in 1908 in his book ‘Three Voyages of a Naturalist, being an account of many little-known islands in three oceans visited by the “Valhalla,” R.Y.S.’:  

We had not proceeded far before we heard the long bubbling note of a lark-heeled cuckoo, and soon found the bird sitting in a thick bush near its nest – a large domed structure built of dried grasses, and containing two perfectly white eggs. This “cuckoo”, which is, by the way, not a true cuckoo, builds its own nests and rears its own young. The Assumption species is closely allied to the one I have mentioned as seen in the Forêt d’Ambre [Madagascar], but is somewhat larger. Although they were extraordinary tame, we were unable to catch any of them alive, as they rarely left the thickest parts of the bushes.” [1]

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The island was already overrun by rats at this point, trees and bushes were felled for building houses and as firewood, and finally guano was quarried on the island, which led to the almost complete destruction of the native vegetation – and thus to the extinction of the local wildlife populations.

This was apparently also the last time when the Assumption Coucal was seen.

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References:  

[1] M. J. Nicoll: Three Voyages of a Naturalist, being an account of many little-known islands in three oceans visited by the “Valhalla,” R.Y.S.. London: Witherby & Co. 1908  

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Malagasy Coucal (Centropus toulou (Müller)); nominate form

Depiction from: ‘Alfred Grandidier: Histoire Physique, Naturelle et Politique de Madagascar. Paris: à l’Imprimerie Nationale 1836-1921’

(public domain)

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edited: 08.10.2020

Coua cristata ssp. maxima Milon

Large Crested Coua (Coua cristata ssp. maxima)  

The Crested Coua (Coua cristata (L.)) is one of the about 11 species of its genus that are endemic to the island of Madagascar. It reaches a size of about 40 cm and is split into three subspecies, of which one appears to be extinct.  

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The Large Crested Coua was described in 1950 based on a single specimen that was collected near the city of Tôlanaro (formerly Fort Dauphin) in the Toliara Province, southeast Madagascar.  

The subspecies differed from the other two by its much larger size.  

This somewhat enigmatic form was never seen again and is considered extinct.  

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References:  

[1] Pete Morris, Frank Hawkins: Birds of Madagascar, A Photographic Guide. Bloomsbury Specialist 1998  

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Crested Coua (Coua cristata ssp. cristata); nominate race  

Depiction from: ‘Alfred Grandidier: Histoire Physique, Naturelle et Politique de Madagascar. Paris: à l’Imprimerie Nationale 1836-1921’  

(public domain)

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edited: 06.11.2017