Crested coua
Coua cristata (Linnaeus, 1766)
The crested coua (Coua cristata) is a species in the family Cuculidae, order Cuculiformes. Recorded adults weigh 147 g to 148.2 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
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Quick facts about the crested coua
- Weight
- 147 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc 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 crested coua live?
Not recorded
What is the crested coua?
The crested coua (Coua cristata) is a common medium-sized bird member of the cuckoo family, Cuculidae. It is endemic to Madagascar, mainly found in the coastal regions of the island. The crested coua is a weak flyer, so it will often be observed hopping from branch to branch in high canopies. It is distinguished mainly by its greenish-grey back, its prominent grey head crest, rufous-coloured breast, white abdomen and bright turquoise and blue patches of bare skin around the eyes.
From the Wikipedia article “Crested coua” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crested_coua&oldid=1374824619), 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 crested coua endangered?
The crested coua is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the crested coua classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCuculiformes
- familyCuculidae
- genusCoua
- SpeciesCoua cristata (Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms Cuculus cristatus
Other names and names in other languages (36)
- CRCOEnglish
- كوا متوجةArabic
- coua crestat septentrionalCatalan
- kukalka chocholatáCzech
- coa cribogWelsh
- Toppet SilkegøgDanish
- SpitzschopfcouaGerman
- SchopfseidenkuckuckGerman
- Spitzschopf-SeidenkuckuckGerman
- SpitzschopfseidenkuckuckGerman
- kresta kuaoEsperanto
- Cúa crestadoSpanish
- tutt-siidkäguEstonian
- töyhtökukuFinnish
- Coua huppéFrench
- kukmasta kuaCroatian
- kontyos selyemkakukkHungarian
- Cua crestatoItalian
- カンムリジカッコウJapanese
- kuoduotoji madagaskarinė gegutėLithuanian
- TivokaMalagasy
- TokamboloMalagasy
- KuifcouaDutch
- toppkoaNorwegian
- kuja czubataPolish
- cua-de-poupaPortuguese
- Хохлатая тивукаRussian
- Хохлатая мадагаскарская кукушкаRussian
- koa chochlatáSlovak
- Ćubasta kuaSerbian
- tofskouaSwedish
- Tepeli KuaTurkish
- Tepeli couaTurkish
- коуа чубатийUkrainian
- 凤头马岛鹃Chinese
- 鳳頭馬島鵑Chinese
Relatives of the crested coua
Other species in the same genus Coua.
Blue coua
Coua caerulea
Delalande's coua
Coua delalandei
Coquerel's coua
Coua coquereli
Giant coua
Coua gigas
Red-capped coua
Coua ruficeps
Verreaux's coua
Coua verreauxi
CompareCrested coua vs Blue couaCrested coua vs Delalande's couaCrested coua vs Coquerel's couaCrested coua vs Giant coua
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the crested coua?
An adult crested coua weighs 147 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the crested coua endangered?
The crested coua 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 crested coua?
The crested coua (Coua cristata) 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.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Crested coua (Coua cristata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/crested-coua
“Crested coua (Coua cristata).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/crested-coua.
@misc{crested_coua_2026,
title = {Crested coua (Coua cristata)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/crested-coua},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}