Mystery bird: Greater Coucal?
I saw this impressive guy on the NTU grounds this morning. It flew by me, so big I thought it was one of the local red roosters on the loose. I didn’t quite get a picture of its head, but take a look and see if my photos look like the bird from the diagnostic photo I gleaned from the internet:
Here’s a much better picture by comparison:
The stance looks right, and the confirmation of the head. Too bad I couldn’t get the bright red eye. Also its tail seemed stubbier than that of the confirmed coucal. If it’s not a coucal it might be a juvenile or damaged specimen of a grey-headed-eagle or brahminy kite. But its tendency to walk away instead of flying up to escape me suggests it’s a greater coucal. Apparently the greater coucal is a ground-and-low-bush-dwelling bird, not a high flyer.