NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Raffles's Malkoha
Rhinortha chlorophaea (Raffles, 1822)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Raffles's malkoha (Rhinortha chlorophaea) is a species of cuckoo (family Cuculidae). It was formerly often placed in Phaenicophaeus with the other malkohas, but it appears to not be very closely related to the true malkohas. It exhibits several autapomorphies and sexual dimorphism (which its presumed relatives all lack).
It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand. It was once found in Singapore but is now considered extirpated. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
Its diet consists of insects, including caterpillars, cicadas, crickets, beetles, and locusts.
During courtship, the male Raffles's malkoha has been observed to stand on the base of the female's outstretched wings and hold a frog in its bill. It is unclear whether the frog is a gift to the female or whether the male keeps it afterward.
Wikipedia contributors, Raffles's malkoha; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:35:53.555280+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Rhinortha chlorophaea (Raffles, 1822)
- Name authority
- (Raffles, 1822)
- Common name
- Raffles's Malkoha
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Cuculiformes
- Family
- Cuculidae
- Genus
- Rhinortha
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderCuculiformes
- familyCuculidae
- genusRhinortha Vigors, 1830
- speciesRhinortha chlorophaea (Raffles, 1822)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Phaenicophaeus chlorophaeus (Raffles, 1822) (Raffles, 1822) | synonym |
| Rhinortha chlorophaea facta Ripley, 1942 Ripley, 1942 | synonym |
| Rhinortha chlorophaea fuscigularis E. C. S. Baker, 1919 E. C. S. Baker, 1919 | synonym |
| Rhinortha chlorophaea chlorophaea (Raffles, 1822) (Raffles, 1822) | synonym |
| Cuculus chlorophaeus Raffles, 1822 Raffles, 1822 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=705311 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4S9SD. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.