Black Coucal

Black Coucal
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Cuculiformes
Family:	Cuculidae
Genus:	Centropus
Species:	C. grillii
Binomial name
Centropus grillii Hartlaub, 1861

The Black Coucal (Centropus grillii) is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The species has the role of sexes reversed with the males tending the nest while females are polyandrous and maintain territories. Studies on the hormonal system show that Progesterone is responsible for controlling the aggressiveness of females.^[2]

References

1. ^ BirdLife International 2004. Centropus grillii. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 24 July 2007.
2. ^ Goymann, W., Wittenzellner, A., Schwabl, I., & Makomba, M. (2008, May 7). Progesterone modulates aggression in sex-role reversed female African black coucals. Proceedings: Biological Sciences, 275(1638):1053-1060.