Black Coucal
Photo © Sandra Keller
Photo © Sandra Keller — CC BY 4.0 — Source: iNaturalist #27562668The black coucal (Centropus grillii) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It has a wide distribution in Africa south of the Sahara. == Description == The male black coucal is 30 cm (12 in) in length while the female is 34 cm (13 in), otherwise they are similar in appearance. In breeding plumage the head, body and tail are black, apart from some buff barring on the rump, and the wings are rufous. Outside the breeding season, the upper parts are dark brown with rufous barring. The eyes are brown and the beak and legs are black. Juveniles are rufous with various dark and light barring and streaking. == Distribution and habitat == It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, DRC, Ivory Coast, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It is resident in some locations and migrant in others. Its habitat is marshes, savannah, grassland, bracken, undergrowth, and clearings in woodland, and occasionally reeds and papyrus. It usually occurs below 1,500 m (5,000…
Serengeti National Park
Tanzania
+558 birds+57 mammals
Across Tanzania's northern plateau, where volcanic soils meet acacia woodland and open grassland, unfolds one of Earth's most dynamic ecosystems. The Serengeti National Park sprawls across…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKChobe National Park
Botswana
+446 birds+45 mammals
Where the Chobe River cuts a sinuous path through northern Botswana, the landscape transforms into one of Africa's most dynamic wetland-savanna mosaics. This national park encompasses…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKVirunga National Park
Uganda
+418 birds+13 mammals
Where the Western Rift Valley fractures the landscape of North Kivu, Virunga National Park sprawls across terrain as geologically dramatic as it is ecologically vital. Volcanic…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKBwindi Impenetrable National Park
Kanyashogi, Uganda
+603 birds+26 mammals
Steep ridges cloaked in montane forest rise from Uganda's southwestern borderlands, where the landscape grows so dense and tangled that early explorers named it impenetrable. At…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKKidepo Valley National Park
Uganda
+478 birds+24 mammals
Where the Narus and Kidepo rivers carve through northeastern Uganda's semi-arid lowlands, a landscape of sparse acacia woodland, grassland, and riverine thickets creates one of East…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKMurchison Falls National Park
Uganda
+608 birds+33 mammals
Where the Victoria Nile compresses through a narrow gorge and explodes across a 45-meter precipice, the landscape speaks in thunder. Murchison Falls National Park sprawls across…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKLake Mburo National Park
Uganda
+505 birds+24 mammals
Rolling acacia woodland and scattered lakes define this intimate savanna preserve in southwestern Uganda, where the rift valley's geological drama shapes every water source and grassland.…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKTsavo East National Park
Athi ward, Kenya
+468 birds+50 mammals
Across the semi-arid lowlands of southeastern Kenya, where acacia woodland fragments into scrubland and the landscape rolls toward the Indian Ocean horizon, lies one of Africa's…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKAmboseli National Park
Etonet/Lenkism ward, Kenya
+501 birds+43 mammals
Where the Amboseli basin opens toward the Tanzanian frontier, a shallow alkaline lake mirrors vast skies across one of East Africa's most iconic savanna landscapes. The…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKTarangire National Park
Tanzania
+527 birds+50 mammals
Acacia woodland and grassland sweep across the Manyara Region where the Tarangire River carves through low hills and volcanic soils, creating one of East Africa's most…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKNgorongoro Conservation Area
Tanzania
+626 birds+55 mammals
Volcanic calderas and open grassland dominate this high plateau in northern Tanzania, where the landscape rises above 2,000 metres and ancient geological forces have shaped both…
VIEW WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREAToro-Semliki Proposed National Park
Uganda
+474 birds+5 mammals
Where the Albertine Rift's western escarpment rises above the Semliki River valley, a vast mosaic of forest, savanna and wetland converges to create one of East…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKQueen Elizabeth National Park
Uganda
+672 birds+30 mammals
Across the southwestern escarpment of Uganda, where the Western Rift Valley descends through ancient volcanic terrain, Queen Elizabeth National Park sprawls across more than 8,300 square…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKMabamba Swamp
Memere, Uganda
+464 birds+2 mammals
Across the Central Region of Uganda spreads one of Africa's most biodiverse freshwater wetlands, a sprawling nature reserve of roughly 283 square kilometres where papyrus swamps…
VIEW NATURE RESERVEKruger National Park
Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality, South Africa
+540 birds+91 mammals
Across the low-lying savanna of northeastern South Africa unfolds one of Africa's largest and most ecologically intact protected areas, where acacia woodlands merge into mopane scrub…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKZiwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch
Nakasongola, Uganda
+359 birds+11 mammals
Where papyrus wetlands merge into sprawling savanna, Uganda's central landscape opens into one of East Africa's most vital rhino recovery zones. Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYNkasa Rupara National Park
Namibia
+283 birds+17 mammals
Where the Zambezi's floodplains spill across the border between Namibia and Botswana, Nkasa Rupara National Park unfolds across 518 square kilometers of wetland and woodland mosaic.…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKBwabwata National Park
Namibia
+377 birds+35 mammals
Where the Kavango River winds through northeastern Namibia, vast floodplains and dense riparian woodland create one of southern Africa's most ecologically dynamic protected landscapes. Spanning 14,249…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKRuma National Park
Suba, Kenya
+250 birds+8 mammals
Where the Winam Gulf narrows toward the Kenyan mainland, Ruma National Park rises as a sanctuary of evergreen woodland set within the humid tropics of Homa…
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