CreatureData

Giant coua

Coua gigas (Boddaert, 1783)

VUVulnerablebirds

The giant coua (Coua gigas) is a species in the family Cuculidae, order Cuculiformes. Recorded adults weigh 424 g to 427 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.

Giant coua (Coua gigas)
Photo: DickDaniels ( http://theworldbirds.org/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the giant coua

Weight
424 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
3src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the giant coua live?

Not recorded

What is the giant coua?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The giant coua (Coua gigas) is a bird species from the Coua genus in the cuckoo family that is endemic to the dry forests of western and southern Madagascar. Couas probably originated from a particular Asian ground-cuckoo. The genus Coua contains 10 species, more than any other genus in Madagascar. This species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN due to a rapidly decreasing population, resulting from defroestation and hunting pressures.

From the Wikipedia article “Giant coua” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Giant_coua&oldid=1379250428), 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 giant coua endangered?

The giant coua is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

  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 Vulnerable species.

How is the giant coua classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCuculiformes
  5. familyCuculidae
  6. genusCoua
  7. SpeciesCoua gigas (Boddaert, 1783)

Synonyms Cuculus gigas, Cuculus madagascariensis

Other names and names in other languages (35)
  • GICOEnglish
  • كوا عملاقةArabic
  • coua gegantCatalan
  • kukalka velkáCzech
  • coa mawrWelsh
  • Stor SilkegøgDanish
  • RiesencouaGerman
  • Riesen-SeidenkuckuckGerman
  • RiesenseidenkuckuckGerman
  • giganta kuaoEsperanto
  • Cúa giganteSpanish
  • suur-siidkäguEstonian
  • isokukuFinnish
  • Coua géantFrench
  • velika kuaCroatian
  • óriás-selyemkakukkHungarian
  • Cua giganteItalian
  • オニジカッコウJapanese
  • didžioji madagaskarinė gegutėLithuanian
  • LejabeMalagasy
  • AliotsyMalagasy
  • Grote CouaDutch
  • kjempekoaNorwegian
  • kuja wielkaPolish
  • cua-gigantePortuguese
  • Гигантская тивукаRussian
  • Гигантская мадагаскарская кукушкаRussian
  • koa veľkáSlovak
  • Džinovska kuaSerbian
  • jättekouaSwedish
  • İri couaTurkish
  • Büyük KuaTurkish
  • коуа великийUkrainian
  • 大馬島鵑Chinese
  • 大马岛鹃Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the giant coua

Other species in the same genus Coua.

LC, Least Concern
Blue coua (Coua caerulea)

Blue coua

Coua caerulea

Cuculidae

CompareGiant coua vs Blue couaGiant coua vs Delalande's couaGiant coua vs Crested couaGiant coua vs Coquerel's coua

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the giant coua?

An adult giant coua weighs 424 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the giant coua endangered?

The giant coua is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the giant coua?

The giant coua (Coua gigas) 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). Giant coua (Coua gigas). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/giant-coua

MLA

“Giant coua (Coua gigas).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/giant-coua.

BibTeX
@misc{giant_coua_2026,
  title = {Giant coua (Coua gigas)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/giant-coua},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}