Greater Coucal
Centropus sinensis
Also known as: Common Crow-Pheasant, Crow Pheasant
About This Species
This large, crow-like cuckoo inhabits dense scrub, forest edge, and gardens across South and Southeast Asia, moving with a heavy, clambering gait through low vegetation rather than flying far. Its deep, resonant, repeated hooting call, often given at dawn, is usually easier to detect than the bird itself, which tends to skulk in cover. It is resident year-round, but the breeding season brings the most frequent and far-carrying calling, making early morning the best time to listen for it.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Because it favours dense cover and calls from within vegetation, approach is naturally limited; standing still near a calling bird rather than pushing into scrub gives the best chance of a view without flushing it.
- Wildlife protection law varies across its range through South and Southeast Asian countries, so check local rules, especially around protected areas.
- Avoiding playback of its call to draw it into the open is a simple way to prevent unnecessary stress during the breeding season.
LCAvesCuculiformesCuculidae
Seasonal Activity
1,032,146 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Cuculiformes
- Family
- Cuculidae
Photo
(c) Uday Agashe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Uday Agashe
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.