Lesser Coucal

The lesser coucal is a blackish, long-tailed coucal with rufous wings, smaller and shorter-billed than the greater coucal, with a darker brown rather than crimson eye and the longest hind claw of any coucal. It is one of the few coucals with seasonal plumages: in breeding dress the head and upper back are glossy, while outside the breeding season the feather shafts on the head and back show as whitish streaks. The sexes cannot be told apart in the field. Juveniles are browner with black spots and bars (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is found singly or in pairs low in the undergrowth of marshy or grassy areas next to forest, mainly in the lowlands. Its calls include a series of low, double whoot-woot or kurook notes that speed up and fall in pitch. Like other coucals it raises its own young: it builds a dome of grass blades in a low tree, and both sexes incubate and care for the chicks. In India it is resident with a moderate range; SoIB 2023 finds its long-term trend stable and rates it a Low conservation priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).