Shy but distinctive, the blue-headed coucal (Centropus monachus) is named because its head, sides of neck and back black, are glossed with blue. It is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. Native to tropical central Africa, its typical habitat is swamps, river banks, forest edges and generally wet locations. Like all coucals, it will eat nearly anything that can fit into its mouth: insects, rodents, birds and their eggs, snails, amphibians, reptiles and snakes. Unlike most cuckoos, coucals build their own nests.
