Rough-crested (Red-crested) Malkoha
Malkohas are a group of birds belonging to the cuckoo family. The word Malkoha means "flower-cuckoo" probably because of the funky and very colorful plumage of the head and face of these birds. They are known to be skulkers, preferring the under canopy, hopping from one branch to the other while looking for insects and grubs. Featured here is a Rough-crested (or Red-crested) Malkoha, one of the two endemic Malkohas in the Philippines. This malkoha can be found only in the lowland forests and forests edge of Luzon and has a varied diet of grasshoppers, caterpillars, as well as other small insects. It is a nest-raider and will eat the chicks and eggs of other birds. Unlike the other members of the cuckoo family, this Rough-crested Malkoha is not a nest parasite and builds its own nest. The other Philippine endemic Malkoha is the equally-beautiful Scale-feathered Malkoha which we will feature in a succeeding post.
Rough-crested (Red-crested) Malkoha, Phaenicophaeus superciliosus
February 2015, Mt. Makiling, Los Baños, Laguna, Luzon, Philippines
Video by Adrian Constantino
Digiscoped with a Swarovski 80 ATM HD, Panasonic G3, Panasonic 20 mm F1.7 lens, Swarovski UCA (Universal Camera Adapter)
