Couas are large, mostly terrestrial birds of the cuckoo family, endemic to the island of Madagascar.
Couas are reminiscent of African turacos when walking along tree branches, and they likewise feature brightly coloured, bare skin around the eyes. Some resemble coucals in their habit of clambering through jungle while foraging, while the arboreal species move between tree canopies with gliding flight. Four species have been recorded in rainforests, while the remaining six are found in the dry forests of western and southern Madagascar.
They have large feet, with a reversible third toe like all cuckoos. Their long tibiae suggest a relationship with the Carpococcyx ground-cuckoos of Asia, a genus with similar nestlings. Consequently, they are sometimes united in the subfamily Couinae. Couas build their own nests and lay white eggs. Couas' calls are a short series of evenly spaced notes, which are sometimes answered by other individuals.
Taxonomy The genus Coua was erected by Swiss naturalist Heinrich Rudolf Schinz in 1821, with Cuculus madagascariensis (a synonym of Cuculus gigas) as the type species. The name is from koa, the Malagasy word for the couas.
Species The 10 extant species placed in the genus Coua are: Image Scientific name Common name Distribution C. cursor Running coua Madagascar C. gigas Giant couawestern and southern Madagascar C. coquereli Coquerel's coua Madagascar C. serriana Red-breasted coua Madagascar C. reynaudii Red-fronted coua Madagascar C. ruficeps Red-capped coua Madagascar C. olivaceiceps Olive-capped coua Madagascar C. cristata Crested coua Madagascar C. verreauxi Verreaux's couaMadagascar C. caerulea Blue coua Madagascar
Fossils and extinct species Ancient coua, C. primaeva – prehistoric Bertha's coua, C. berthae – only known from Holocene fossil remainsGoodman & Ravoavy; Smithsonian Institution (1993). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 106. Smithsonian Libraries. [Washington : Biological Society of Washington]. pp. 26–33. Delalande's coua or the snail-eating coua, C. delalandei – extinct (late 19th century)
References
Further reading Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands, Sinclair and Langrand, 1998.
External links Birds of Madagascar, including Couas