Malkoha

Malkohas
Sirkeer Malkoha
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Cuculiformes
Family:	Cuculidae
Subfamily:	Phaenicophaeinae
Genus:	Phaenicophaeus Stephens, 1815

Malkohas are large birds in the cuckoo family Cuculidae, all in the genus Phaenicophaeus. The group name is derived from the Sinhala word for the Red-faced Malkoha; Mal-Koha meaning flower-cuckoo. These are all Asian tropical species. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek phoiniko- "crimson", and phaes "eyes" or "face",^[1] referring to the Red-faced Malkoha. However, the 'œ' was mistranscribed as 'æ'.^[2]

Species in taxonomic order are:

• Black-bellied Malkoha, Phaenicophaeus diardi
• Chestnut-bellied Malkoha, Phaenicophaeus sumatranus
• Blue-faced Malkoha, Phaenicophaeus viridirostris
• Green-billed Malkoha, Phaenicophaeus tristis
• Sirkeer Malkoha, Phaenicophaeus leschenaultii
• Red-billed Malkoha, Phaenicophaeus javanicus
• Yellow-billed Malkoha, Phaenicophaeus calyorhynchus
• Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, Phaenicophaeus curvirostris
• Red-faced Malkoha, Phaenicophaeus pyrrhocephalus
• Rough-crested Malkoha or Red-crested Malkoha, Phaenicophaeus superciliosus
• Scale-feathered Malkoha, Phaenicophaeus cumingi

Raffles's Malkoha ("P." chlorophaeus) is a highly distinct species and may not even be as closely related to malkohas as long believed. Its placement in a monotypic genus Rhinortha is supported by a morphological, molecular and behavioral evidence.

References

1. ^ Liddell, Henry George and Robert Scott (1980). A Greek-English Lexicon (Abridged Edition). United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-910207-4. 
2. ^ Payne RB, Sorenson MD (2005). The Cuckoos: Cuculidae. Oxford University Press. p. 294. ISBN 0198502133. 

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