CreatureData

Blue-faced malkoha

Phaenicophaeus viridirostris (Jerdon, 1840)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The blue-faced malkoha (Phaenicophaeus viridirostris) is a species in the family Cuculidae, order Cuculiformes. Recorded adults weigh about 67 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Blue-faced malkoha (Phaenicophaeus viridirostris)
Photo: Derivative work (crop): Osado Original uploader: D momaya · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the blue-faced malkoha

Weight
67 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
woodlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the blue-faced malkoha live?

Not recorded

What is the blue-faced malkoha?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The blue-faced malkoha (Phaenicophaeus viridirostris) or small green-billed malkoha, is a non-parasitic cuckoo found in the scrub and deciduous forests of peninsular India and Sri Lanka. It has a waxy, dark, blue-grey plumage on its upperparts and has a long tail with graduated white-tipped feathers. The throat and chin are dark with spiny pale feathers that are branched. The lower belly is a dull creamy to rufous colour. The bill is apple green, and a naked patch of blue skin surrounds the eye. The sexes are alike. The blue-faced malkoha is a bird of open forests and scrub jungle.

From the Wikipedia article “Blue-faced malkoha” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blue-faced_malkoha&oldid=1368830453), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the blue-faced malkoha endangered?

The blue-faced malkoha is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the blue-faced malkoha classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCuculiformes
  5. familyCuculidae
  6. genusPhaenicophaeus
  7. SpeciesPhaenicophaeus viridirostris (Jerdon, 1840)

Synonyms Rhopodytes viridirostris, Zanclostomus viridirostris

Other names and names in other languages (36)
  • ملاكوهة أزرق الوجهArabic
  • Malcoha ullblauCatalan
  • malcoa d'ulls blausCatalan
  • kukačka brýlatáCzech
  • kukačka modrolícíCzech
  • malcoa pigwyrddWelsh
  • BrillemalkohaDanish
  • BlauringkuckuckGerman
  • Kleiner GrünschnabelkuckuckGerman
  • okulvitra kukoloEsperanto
  • Malcoha cariazulSpanish
  • prill-malkohakäguEstonian
  • intianmalkohaFinnish
  • Malcoha à bec vertFrench
  • indijski kukalCroatian
  • kékarcú selymeskakukkHungarian
  • Malcoa facciabluItalian
  • Malcoa beccoverde piccoloItalian
  • アオメクロバンケンモドキJapanese
  • mažoji krūmyninė gegutėLithuanian
  • പച്ചച്ചുണ്ടൻMalayalam
  • Kleine GroensnavelmalkohaDutch
  • blåbrillemalkohaNorwegian
  • kukuła niebieskookaPolish
  • malcoa-de-faces-azuisPortuguese
  • Синеглазая малкоаRussian
  • Синелицая кустарниковая кукушкаRussian
  • malkoha okuliarnatáSlovak
  • Plavolika malkoaSerbian
  • blåmaskad malkohaSwedish
  • நீலமுகச் சண்பகம்Tamil
  • Mavi Yüzlü MalkohaTurkish
  • малкога сірочереваUkrainian
  • 藍臉地鵑Chinese
  • 小綠嘴地鵑Chinese
  • 小绿嘴地鹃Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the blue-faced malkoha

Other species in the same genus Phaenicophaeus.

LC, Least Concern

Mentawai malkoha

Phaenicophaeus oeneicaudus

CuculidaeNo free photo yet

CompareBlue-faced malkoha vs Chestnut-breasted malkohaBlue-faced malkoha vs Green-billed malkohaBlue-faced malkoha vs Red-faced malkohaBlue-faced malkoha vs Black-bellied malkoha

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the blue-faced malkoha?

An adult blue-faced malkoha weighs 67 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the blue-faced malkoha endangered?

The blue-faced malkoha is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the blue-faced malkoha?

The blue-faced malkoha (Phaenicophaeus viridirostris) belongs to the family Cuculidae in the order Cuculiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Blue-faced malkoha (Phaenicophaeus viridirostris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-faced-malkoha

MLA

“Blue-faced malkoha (Phaenicophaeus viridirostris).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-faced-malkoha.

BibTeX
@misc{blue_faced_malkoha_2026,
  title = {Blue-faced malkoha (Phaenicophaeus viridirostris)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-faced-malkoha},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}