White-browed Coucal

White-browed Coucal

Centropus superciliosus

Silhouette: Nicolas Huet le Jeune and Jean-Gabriel Prêtre (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Durban

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%

64 Verified sightings at Durban
16,566 In all 45 parks From 2019 to 2026
December Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the White-browed Coucal

The white-browed coucal or lark-heeled cuckoo (Centropus superciliosus), is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in sub-Saharan Africa. It inhabits areas with thick cover afforded by rank undergrowth and scrub, including in suitable coastal regions. Burchell's coucal is sometimes considered a subspecies.

The white-browed coucal is a medium-sized species growing to 36 to 42 cm (14 to 17 in) in length. The sexes are similar, adults having a blackish crown and nape, a white supercilium, rufous-brown back, chestnut wings, blackish rump and black tail, glossed with green, with a white tip. The underparts are creamy-white, the eyes red, the beak black, and the legs and feet greyish-black or black. Juveniles have rufous streaking on the crown, a faint buff supercilium, barred upper parts and darker underparts.

The white-browed coucal is native to eastern and southern Africa, and the southwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula. Its range includes Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:22

Saudi Arabia · 2026

© Mischa Keijmel · XC1141642 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:04

Uganda · 2025

© Bernard BOUSQUET · XC1052426 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Alarm call0:11

Kenya · 2020

© James Bradley · XC536927 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Meru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~70%
2 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~60%
3 Kidepo Valley National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~60%
4 uMkhuze Game Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
~60%
5 Mkomazi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~60%
6 Arusha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~50%
7 Tarangire National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~50%
8 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~50%
9 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
10 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~40%
11 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~40%
12 Nairobi National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~40%
13 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~40%
14 Serengeti National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~40%
15 Ruaha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~40%
16 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
17 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
18 Lake Manyara National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~30%
19 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
20 Tsavo East National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
21 Virunga National Park 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
~30%
22 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~30%
23 Samburu National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
24 Gorongosa National Park 🇲🇿 Mozambique
~30%
25 Amboseli National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
26 Tsavo West National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
27 Pilanesberg National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~30%
28 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~20%
29 Gonarezhou National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~20%
30 Liwonde National Park 🇲🇼 Malawi
~20%
31 Awash National Park 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~10%
32 Garden Route National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
33 Mikumi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
34 Mana Pools National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~10%
35 Lower Zambezi National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~10%
36 Addo Elephant National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
37 South Luangwa National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~10%
38 Semuliki National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
39 Aberdare National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
40 De Hoop Nature Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
41 Chobe National Park 🇧🇼 Botswana
<5%
42 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
43 Moremi Game Reserve 🇧🇼 Botswana
<5%
44 Nyungwe National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
<5%
45 Table Mountain National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Mombasa 🇰🇪 Kenya
~50%
2 Kigali 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~30%
3 Kampala 🇺🇬 Uganda
~20%
4 Bujumbura 🇧🇮 Burundi
~10%
5 Zanzibar City 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
6 Pretoria 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
7 Maputo 🇲🇿 Mozambique
~10%
8 Lusaka 🇿🇲 Zambia
~10%
9 Durban 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
10 Luanda 🇦🇴 Angola
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Berlin Zoological Garden 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
2 Aquarium Berlin 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a White-browed Coucal in Durban?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-browed Coucal sighting in Durban on a given day, based on 64 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 92nd most-seen of the 219 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a White-browed Coucal in Durban?

December

In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a White-browed Coucal in Durban on a given day, against under 5% in March to July, the lowest months. That is one of Durban's wettest months, with about 210 mm of rain against 25 mm in June.

What time of day is best to see a White-browed Coucal?

Between 6 and 9 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-browed Coucal sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Durban the best place to see a White-browed Coucal?

9th of 13

Of the 13 cities where we can rate White-browed Coucal sightings, Durban ranks 9th at about 10%. The best odds are in Mombasa (Kenya, about 50%), Kigali (Rwanda, about 30%) and Kampala (Uganda, about 20%).

Where does the White-browed Coucal sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the White-browed Coucal is recorded against all the birds logged in Durban (64 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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