Green Malkoha

Open encyclopedia reference

The green malkoha or whistling yellowbill (Ceuthmochares australis) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. This species and the blue malkoha were previously considered conspecific and together known as the yellowbill. It has a green tail, wings and back. It has a widespread distribution down the coast of Eastern Africa from Kenya to South Africa. It ranges from dense forest to riverine forest and forest edges. In the forest it typically lives in the subcanopy at between 8–30 m. The green malkoha feeds primarily on insects, particularly caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers and crickets; it will also take frogs, slugs, fruit, seeds and leaves. It moves through the tangled vegetation with a series of small hops, snatching prey as it travels. It will accompany other birds and squirrels, taking the insects flushed by them. Unlike some other cuckoos the green malkoha is not a brood parasite, instead it cares for its own young. Breeding behaviour has been observed. The male and female face each other, first wagging their tails from side to side, then spreading them.

Wikipedia contributors, Green malkoha; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:25:35.858801+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Ceuthmochares australis Sharpe, 1873

Name authority

Sharpe, 1873

Common name

Green Malkoha

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Cuculiformes

Family

Cuculidae

Genus

Ceuthmochares

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderCuculiformes
10. familyCuculidae
11. genusCeuthmochares Cabanis & Heine, 1863
12. speciesCeuthmochares australis Sharpe, 1873

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Ceuthmochares. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 88 records assigned to Cuculidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1243722 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:CNJ4Z. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.