NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Burchell's Coucal
Centropus burchellii Swainson, 1838
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.
Burchell's Coucal, Centropus burchelli: a study at Kruger National Park, South Africa
Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Burchell's coucal (Centropus burchellii) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in the southeastern parts of sub-Saharan Africa. It inhabits areas with thick cover afforded by rank undergrowth and scrub, including in suitable coastal regions. Common names include gewone vleiloerie in Afrikaans and umGugwane or uFukwe in Zulu. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the white-browed coucal, which replaces it to the north and west. The juvenile plumages and calls of the two taxa are hardly distinguishable. The species is named after the British naturalist William John Burchell.
Wikipedia contributors, Burchell's coucal; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:17:21.470121+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Centropus burchellii Swainson, 1838
- Name authority
- Swainson, 1838
- Common name
- Burchell's Coucal
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Cuculiformes
- Family
- Cuculidae
- Genus
- Centropus
- 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
- genusCentropus Illiger, 1811
- speciesCentropus burchellii Swainson, 1838
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Centropus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Short-toed CoucalCentropus rectunguis Strickland, 1847 | CuculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lesser CoucalCentropus bengalensis (J. F. Gmelin, 1788) | CuculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pied CoucalCentropus ateralbus R. Lesson, 1826 | CuculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-billed CoucalCentropus bernsteini Schlegel, 1866 | CuculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bay CoucalCentropus celebensis Quoy & Gaimard, 1832 | CuculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Green-billed CoucalCentropus chlororhynchos Blyth, 1849 | CuculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Coppery-tailed CoucalCentropus cupreicaudus Reichenow, 1896 | CuculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Goliath CoucalCentropus goliath Bonaparte, 1850 | CuculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-throated CoucalCentropus leucogaster (Leach, 1814) | CuculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Buff-headed CoucalCentropus milo Gould, 1856 | CuculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Kai CoucalCentropus spilopterus G. R. Gray, 1858 | CuculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-hooded CoucalCentropus steerii Bourns & Worcester, 1894 | CuculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Centropus burchelli Swainson, 1838 Swainson, 1838 | 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=1243721 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.
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:CNJKC. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.