Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Côte dIvoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania [United Republic of], Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Vagrant to Niger.
Senegal, Gambia and Ivory Coast through northern Cameroon and Gabon to Ethiopia and Kenya, and south through southern & eastern Zaire to Angola, Zambia, Malawi, northern Zimbabwe, Mozambique and north-eastern South Africa (north-eastern Natal).
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Black Coucal (Centropus grillii) [XC739492]
by Niall Perrins from Pian Upe National Park, Uganda (call)
Black Coucal (Centropus grillii) [XC739491]
by Dries Van de Loock from Pian Upe National Park, Uganda (call)
Subspecies
Sometimes regarded as conspecific with Madagascar Coucal (Centropus toulou), but voices of the two differ. Has also been considered possibly conspecific with Lesser Coucal (Centropus bengalensis), but their ranges are highly disjunct and, again, vocalizations apparently differ.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet