Birdfinding.info ⇒ A localized, shy, and declining species that is rarely seen away from a few well-known sites. The most convenient site, where the vast majority of sightings occur, is Khao Yai National Park, northeast of Bangkok. Within Khao Yai, most sightings are either at or near Pha Gluay Mai Campground, or along the trail from there to Haew Su Wat Waterfall. Two other sites in Thailand where it is found regularly are Phu Khieo and Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuaries.
Coral-billed Ground-Cuckoo
Carpococcyx renauldi
Humid lowland and foothill forests of Southeast Asia, where it is thought to be decreasing and limited to a few scattered fragments of intact forest—although it seems likely to persist undetected in some additional areas that are more remote.
Approximate historical range of the Coral-billed Ground-Cuckoo. © BirdLife International 2018
Known historically from central and eastern Thailand, central and southern Laos, central and southern Vietnam, and Cambodia, but now apparently extirpated from much of its former range. In recent decades, it has been reported from four sites in Thailand, six in Cambodia, two in Vietnam, and one in Laos.
In Thailand: (1) Nam Nao National Park and Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary; (2) Kao Yai National Park; (3) Khao Khitchakut National Park and Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary; and (4) Yod Dom Wildlife Sanctuary.
In Cambodia: (1) Okoki; (2) Changkran Roy; (3) Preah Khan; (4) Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary; (5) Phnom Aural; and (6) Phnom Namlear Wildlife Sanctuary.
In Vietnam: (1) Ke Go Nature Reserve; and (2) Bach Ma National Park. In Laos: the Nakay Plateau.
Identification
A large, terrestrial cuckoo with a blackish hood and tail, and a coral-pink bill and legs.
The primaries are also blackish, but are not often seen because the bird is rarely seen in flight. The rest of the plumage is mostly shades of gray, with a gradual, lengthwise transition: white or whitish at the base of the hood, then becoming darker gray toward the tail.
A patch of bare skin around the eye is subtly bicolored: pink above and dark blue or violet below the eye. The hood and tail sometimes show a bluish or violet sheen.
Immatures have the same overall pattern as adults, but are brownish instead of blackish and gray.
Coral-billed Ground-Cuckoo, showing apparently uniform gray upperparts in this lighting. (Khao Yai National Park, Thailand; January 26, 2018.) © Frank Golding
Coral-billed Ground-Cuckoo, showing typical coloration. (Khao Yai National Park, Thailand; January 24, 2018.) © Pattaraporn Vangtal
Coral-billed Ground-Cuckoo, showing violet sheen on the blackish hood and tail. (Khao Yai National Park, Thailand; January 17, 2014.) © Kamron Petprayoon
Coral-billed Ground-Cuckoo, dorsal view. (Khao Yai National Park, Thailand; December 14, 2010.) © Alex Vargas
Coral-billed Ground-Cuckoo, frontal close-up. (Khao Yai National Park, Thailand; December 14, 2010.) © Alex Vargas
Voice. Male’s territorial call is a resonant but somewhat nasal WHOOP! WOOOAAAW!, or sometimes just the latter portion: Pairs duet with a few types of notes or phrases, often including a low “slide-whistle” that last a little more than a second and rise slightly in pitch, then declines slightly at the end:Other calls heard in duets include a weak, nasal, crowlike caah, caah.
Notes
Monotypic species.
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable.
References
BirdLife International. 2018. Carpococcyx renauldi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22684138A132439644. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22684138A132439644.en. (Accessed March 29, 2020.)
eBird. 2020. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed March 29, 2020.)
Erritzøe, J., C.F. Mann, F.P. Brammer, and R.A. Fuller. 2012. Cuckoos of the World. Christopher Helm, London.
Payne, R., and E. de Juana. 2020. Coral-billed Ground-cuckoo (Carpococcyx renauldi). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. https://www.hbw.com/node/54850. (Accessed March 29, 2020.)
Robson, C. 2002. Birds of Thailand. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.
Xeno-Canto. 2020. Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo – Carpococcyx renauldi. https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Carpococcyx-renauldi. (Accessed March 29, 2020.)