Centropus superciliosus
Cuculiformes - Cuculidae - Cuckoos & roadrunners
© Dave Edgington
Distribution: Arabia, Ethiopia, through to Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Habitat: Dense bush and moist vegetation.
Diet: Mostly insects, mainly grasshoppers, crickets, locusts & beetles, also lizards, frogs, mice and small birds.
Breeding: Pairs are monogamous and nest in large untidy dome structure with a side entrance, built from grass and twigs, lined with leaves, usually in reeds or bush.
Clutch size: Three to five white eggs.
Incubation: Mainly by the male for a period of 14-15 days.
Rearing: The young are fed by both sexes. Chicks emit a foul smelling black cloacal liquid when disturbed.
Fledge age: 18-20days, chicks are barely able to fly and mostly creep about waiting for adults to feed
View Cotswold Wildlife Park protocol file >
Protocol established 2008
Used on 14 individuals
Success rate 78.57%
Rating
Protocol used for at least 5 individuals with over 75% success | * |
Used by 2 or more institutions | |
Points on minimizing imprinting | |
Birds went on to produce fertile eggs | * |
Birds went on to successfully parent rear |
Warning points
None
Please keep us up-to-date and contact us with your own updates or new protocols for rearing the White-browed Coucal.
Del Hoya, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. eds. (1997). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol4. Sandgrouse to Cukoos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.