- Centropus superciliosus
Description
This is a large bird (about 16", 410mm in length) with very striking plumage including its distinctive broad, yellowish-white supercilliary stripe. However it can be difficult to see due to its habit of skulking in shubbery, undergrowth and dense waterside vegetation.
It has a wide diet consisting mostly of insects, but it will also take young birds and eggs. While it will feed on the ground it is easily disturbed, returning to cover in a clumsy, awkward fashion. These birds are not elegant fliers!
As with other members of the Centropidinae, the White-browed Coucal is non-parasitic. The males construct a nest, they then incubate the eggs and provide most of the feeding and care for the young.
They have a very distinctive song which consists of a series of "gurgling" notes which resemble the sound of water being poured from a bottle and gives them their local Kenyan name of "The Water Bottle Bird".
Identification
Photographed: Maasai Mara NP, Kenya.
