Voice
A series of 3 - 5 jolly, hollow notes, followed by two staccato phrases 'huup huup huup-upp tokalok-tokalok' or 'huup huup huup-uup-upp tokaruk-tokaruk-tokaruk...', territorial call. Also metallic cluckings, repeated quickly at first, then slowly and falling before speeding up again and tailing off 'thic-thicthicthicthicthicthic-thuc-thuc-thuc-thuc-thucthucthuccucucucucuc...'.
Lesser Coucal (Centropus bengalensis) [XC798013]
by Greg Irving from Road to Barton, ricefield, Philippines (duet, song)
Lesser Coucal (Centropus bengalensis) [XC151987]
by Mike Nelson from Tambun, West Dumoga, North Sulawesi, Indonesia (call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. Breeds south-western India, northern and north-eastern Indian subcontinent, south-eastern China, Taiwan, Sundas, Philippines and Wallacea (December - October).
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Nest
Dome-shaped, with a side entrance, sometimes a bowl, in dense bush or tall grass, up to 1.5 m above the ground.
Subspecies
Has been considered possibly conspecific with Black Coucal (Centropus grillii), but the ranges of the two forms are highly disjunct and their vocalizations appear to differ. Has also previously been lumped with Madagascar Coucal (Centropus toulou).
The following 6 subspecies are recognised:
bengalensis (Gmelin, 1788) - India and Nepal through Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand to Indochina.
lignator Swinhoe, 1861 - Southern and south-eastern China, Hainan and Taiwan.
javanensis Dumont, 1818 - Malay Peninsula through Sumatra, Riau and Lingga archipelagos, Bangka and Belitung to Java, Bali, Borneo and Philippines.
sarasinorum Stresemann, 1912 - Sulawesi and Lesser Sundas.
medius Bonaparte, 1850 - Moluccas.
philippinensis Mees, 1971 - Philippines ( except Palawan and Sulu Is.).
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
A Field Guide to the Birds of South-east Asia Robson, C., 2000, New Holland ISBN 1 84330 118 0
BirdLife International Species Factsheet