{{short description|Species of bird}} {{speciesbox | image = Blue-headed Coucal - Kakum NP - Ghana 14 S4E2473 (16018020917).jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Centropus monachus'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T22684276A93022692 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22684276A93022692.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Centropus | species = monachus | authority = Rüppell, 1837 | synonyms = }}
The '''blue-headed coucal''' ('''''Centropus monachus''''') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is native to tropical central Africa where its typical habitat is swamps, river banks, forest edges and generally wet locations. It is a common bird with a wide range, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" />
==Description== The blue-headed coucal is a medium-sized species growing to {{convert|45|to|52|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} in length. The sexes are similar, the adult having the head, sides of neck and back black, glossed with blue, the lower back and rump black, the wings predominantly deep chestnut and the tail black, glossed with green or bronze. The underparts are white or pale buff. The eyes are dark red, the beak black and the legs and feet greyish-black. The juvenile is similar to the adult but the black areas are dull rather than glossy; the head is streaked with rufous-buff, the wings are dark chestnut heavily barred with dark brown, and the back and tail are barred with buff. The throat and breast feathers are spotted with black.<ref name=Erritz>{{cite book |author1=Erritzøe, Johannes |author2=Mann, Clive F. |author3=Brammer, Frederik |author4=Fuller, Richard A. |title=Cuckoos of the World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=avxBNNeRhCYC&pg=PA170 |year=2012 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4081-4267-7 |page=170 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224142309/https://books.google.com/books?id=avxBNNeRhCYC&pg=PA170 |archive-date=2016-12-24 }}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== The blue-headed coucal occurs in tropical central Africa at altitudes of up to {{convert|3000|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}}, generally at higher altitudes than the Senegal coucal (''Centropus senegalensis'').<ref name=Erritz/> It is found in Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> Its habitat is swamps and marshes, tall grassland, river banks, wet savannah, plantations, secondary growth forest, farmland and villages.<ref name=Erritz/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1123893}}
blue-headed coucal Category:Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa blue-headed coucal Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot