Green-Billed Malkoha

The green-billed malkoha is a large, non-parasitic cuckoo 50–60 cm long and weighing about 100–128 g. Its dark grey plumage has a waxy blue-green gloss, the wings appear oily green, and the very long graduated tail ends in broad white tips. A prominent curved green bill and a red facial patch, often outlined clearly in white, make the head distinctive. Unlike many cuckoos, males and females raise their own young (Wikipedia, general species account).

It ranges from the Indian subcontinent through mainland Southeast Asia and is recorded across Vietnam. The species occupies primary and secondary forest, dense thickets, dry scrub, cultivated country and rubber plantations, usually moving deliberately through tangled vegetation rather than making long open flights. It feeds chiefly on insects, sometimes catching them in the air, but also takes small lizards and small mammals. Vietnamese eBird records include forested sites in Ninh Thuan and Lam Dong (Wikipedia, general species account; Cornell Lab eBird records).