Black-hooded coucal

Black-hooded coucal
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Cuculiformes
Family:	Cuculidae
Genus:	Centropus
Species:	C. steerii
Binomial name
Centropus steerii Bourns & Worcester, 1894

The black-hooded coucal (Centropus steerii) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is endemic to Mindoro in the Philippines and is one of the most endangered birds in the country and is the only critically endangered coucal in the world. It is threatened by habitat loss and trapping.

Description and taxonomy

EBird describes the bird as "A large, long-tailed bird of lowland primary forest on Mindoro with a brown back and belly, dark wings with brown-edged feathers, a dark tail with a bluish iridescence, and a black hood with some light streaking on the back of the neck. Note the strong curved bill. Similar to Philippine coucal, but has a brown rather than black belly and is restricted to primary forest rather than more open habitats. Song is a descending series of very deep hoots."

While there are no sexual dimorphism in terms of plummage, females are around 20% larger than males.

It is considered to be a sister species to the Black-faced coucal and the Short-toed coucal. It is monotypic.

Ecology and behavior

Its diet has not yet been recorded at all but pressumed to have the typical coucal diet of mostly insects and occasionally small reptiles and amphibians.

There is no information about its breeding habits and nesting.

Habitat and conservation status

Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forest up to 750 meters above sea level where it frequents areas with tangled thickets and dense bamboo. It does not seem to be able to tolerate secondary growth where it is replaced by the Philippine coucal.

It is threatened by habitat loss with Mindoro having a great loss of forest in recent decades. By 1988, extensive deforestation on Mindoro had reduced forest cover to a mere 120 km² (46 sq mi), of which only a small proportion is below this species's upper altitudinal limit. The lowland forest that does remain is highly fragmented and it is believed that at the current rate of deforestation all forest may disappear by 2020–2030. Slash-and-burn cultivation, occasional selective logging and rattan collection threaten the forest fragments that still support the species. Dynamite blasting for marble is an additional threat to forest at Puerto Galera. The species's genetic viability may be at risk given the small size and fragmented nature of remaining populations. As a consequence, it is now classified as critically endangered by the IUCN with an estimated population of just 50 - 249 mature individuals.

It occurs in a few protected areas such as the Mount Calavite Wildlife Sanctuary, Mounts Iglit–Baco Natural Park, Mount Halcon and most importantly the Sablayan Penal Colony which is the known stronghold for this species. Unfortunately, while protected on paper, actual protection from illegal logging and hunting are lax.

In order to combat extinction, in 2008 local education programs have been initiated and surveys have been executed, and ecotourism has been promoted in order to encourage locals to take to more sustainable occupations. The Zoological Society of London has described the bird as an EDGE species, listed as the top 21, based on evolutionary distinctiveness and its risk of extinction However, this coucal's population and habitat continue to decrease and shrink closer to extinction.

Conservation actions proposed by the IUCN include more surveys to better understand population, to better protect the remaining lowland forests and to raise awareness on this species.

External links

• BirdLife Species Factsheet.