Blue-faced Malkoha

The blue-faced malkoha is a non-parasitic cuckoo of scrub and deciduous forest in peninsular India and Sri Lanka, about 39 cm long. It is dark grey above with an oily green or blue gloss, and has a long graduated tail tipped in white, a pale ochre to grey belly, an apple-green bill and a large patch of blue skin round the eye. The chin and throat feathers are branched, giving a spiny look. The sexes are alike, and Sri Lankan birds have broader white tail tips (Wikipedia, general species account).

Malkohas are generally silent but may give a low croak when flushed. The species nests in a thorny bush, on a platform of twigs lined with green leaves, and lays two, rarely three, chalky white eggs. Nests have been taken from March to August. Nationally Least Concern (Sri Lanka National Red List 2012).