Wildlifeof Sumatra
Green-Billed Malkoha
Cuckoos and Anis/phaenicophaeus_tristis_wikimedia.jpg)
Photo: Lip Kee Yap · CC BY-SA 2.0 (May be cropped or resized)
Phaenicophaeus tristis
Basic stats
Diet
Insects; also small lizards and small mammals
Habitat
Primary forest, second growth, dense thickets, scrub, cultivated areas and plantations; dry scrub and thin forest
Range
Nepal, India and Sri Lanka east to Southeast Asia
Size
50–60cm
Weight
100–128g
The green-billed malkoha is a non-parasitic cuckoo found throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is waxy bluish black with a long graduated tail with white tips to the feathers, and a prominent curved bill. The face has a red patch, often with a clear white border. The adult is dark grey with a green gloss above, with oily green wings, and the bird is about 50 to 60 cm long and weighs 100 to 128 g (Wikipedia, general species account).
Its breeding habitat is primary forest, second growth, dense thickets, scrub, cultivated areas and rubber plantations. It lives mainly on insects, but is also known to catch small lizards and small mammals, and occasionally catches insects in flight (Wikipedia, general species account).
Quick answers
- What does the Green-Billed Malkoha eat?
- Insects; also small lizards and small mammals
- What habitat does the Green-Billed Malkoha live in?
- Primary forest, second growth, dense thickets, scrub, cultivated areas and plantations; dry scrub and thin forest
- Where is the Green-Billed Malkoha found?
- Nepal, India and Sri Lanka east to Southeast Asia
- How big is the Green-Billed Malkoha?
- 50–60cm
- How much does the Green-Billed Malkoha weigh?
- 100–128g