Coua caerulea
Silhouette: Nicolas Huet le Jeune and Jean-Gabriel Prêtre (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The blue coua (Coua caerulea) is a species of bird in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae. It is endemic to the island of Madagascar. This species was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1766. There was once twelve species of Coua but only eight or nine are still extant. The genus Coua derives from koa, the Malagasy name for a cuckoo. In French the bird is known as Coua bleu.
The bird's feathers are a deep blue and there is a distinctive blue oval area around the eye which is free of feathers. Like all cuckoos they have large feet, with a reversible third toe. It has a bulky silhouette and short, broad wings and long tail, all of which can be seen when gliding between trees. The average size of the birds is 48 to 50 cm (18.9 to 19.7 in) in length and 30 to 60 grams (1.1 to 2.1 ounces) in weight with the females slightly larger. The calls are evenly spaced ″koa koa koa″ notes and a brief ″brreee″.
The blue coua is an omnivore eating insects, fruits and small reptiles in subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical mangrove forest, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. The females... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ranomafana National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 2 | Mantadia National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Prague Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 3 | Walsrode World Bird Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Dallas World Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Rákosův pavilon | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 6 | Velemlokárium | 🇨🇿 Czechia |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Coua sighting in Mantadia National Park on a given day, based on 271 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 15th most-seen of the 98 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and November
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Coua in Mantadia National Park on a given day, against about 30% in September, the lowest month. January to April have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue Coua sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Blue Coua sightings, Mantadia National Park ranks 2nd at about 50%. The best odds are in Ranomafana National Park (Madagascar, about 60%).
Same genus: Coua
The closest relatives of the Blue Coua that you can see in Mantadia National Park (genus Coua, Couas) are Red-breasted Coua (about 20%) and Red-fronted Coua (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue Coua is recorded against all the birds logged in Mantadia National Park (271 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
