CreatureData

Green malkoha

Ceuthmochares australis Sharpe, 1873

LCLeast Concernbirds

The green malkoha (Ceuthmochares australis) is a species in the family Cuculidae, order Cuculiformes. Recorded adults weigh 64.1 g to 65.8 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Green malkoha (Ceuthmochares australis)
Photo: John Gerrard Keulemans · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the green malkoha

Weight
64.1 g – 65.8 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
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the green malkoha live?

Not recorded

What is the green malkoha?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The green malkoha or whistling yellowbill (Ceuthmochares australis) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. This species and the blue malkoha were previously considered conspecific and together known as the yellowbill.

It has a green tail, wings and back.

It has a widespread distribution down the coast of Eastern Africa from Kenya to South Africa. It ranges from dense forest to riverine forest and forest edges. In the forest it typically lives in the subcanopy at between 8–30 m.

The green malkoha feeds primarily on insects, particularly caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers and crickets; it will also take frogs, slugs, fruit, seeds and leaves. It moves through the tangled vegetation with a series of small hops, snatching prey as it travels. It will accompany other birds and squirrels, taking the insects flushed by them.

Unlike some other cuckoos the green malkoha is not a brood parasite, instead it cares for its own young. Breeding behaviour has been observed. The male and female face each other, first wagging their tails from side to side, then spreading them. The male also engages in gift giving, presenting the female with prey, then mounting her and feeding her while mounted. Two white and creamy eggs are laid in a nest that is a rough mass of sticks suspended around 2–5 m above the ground. Both parents care for the young.

The green malkoha is an uncommon species and rarely observed due to its secretive behaviour. However it is not considered threatened, and is listed as least concern by the IUCN.

From the Wikipedia article “Green malkoha” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Green_malkoha&oldid=1351104259), 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 green malkoha endangered?

The green 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 green malkoha classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCuculiformes
  5. familyCuculidae
  6. genusCeuthmochares
  7. SpeciesCeuthmochares australis Sharpe, 1873

Synonyms Ceuthmochares aereus australis

Other names and names in other languages (33)
  • GRMAEnglish
  • Whistling yellowbillEnglish
  • Whistling yellowbillEnglish
  • GroenvleiloerieAfrikaans
  • ملاكوهة خضراءArabic
  • malcoa africà orientalCatalan
  • kukačka zelenaváCzech
  • Grønrygget MalkohaDanish
  • OsterzkuckuckGerman
  • GrünerzkuckuckGerman
  • metalverda kukoloEsperanto
  • Malcoha africano orientalSpanish
  • Malcoha australFrench
  • Becjaune australFrench
  • zelenorepi kukalCroatian
  • Malcoa verdeItalian
  • ミナミバンケンモドキJapanese
  • Žalioji geltonsnapė gegutėLithuanian
  • Groene GeelsnavelmalkohaDutch
  • grønnmalmgjøkNorwegian
  • siwianka gwiżdżącaPolish
  • cucal-verdePortuguese
  • malcoa-verdePortuguese
  • Зелёная малкоаRussian
  • Зелёная кукушкаRussian
  • malkoha zelenáSlovak
  • Zelena malkoaSerbian
  • grön gulnäbbSwedish
  • Doğu Afrika MalkohasıTurkish
  • малкога зеленаUkrainian
  • 綠地鵑Chinese
  • 哨声黄嘴鹃Chinese
  • umcwicwicwiZulu

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the green malkoha

Other species in the same genus Ceuthmochares.

CompareGreen malkoha vs Blue malkoha

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the green malkoha?

An adult green malkoha weighs 64.1 g – 65.8 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the green malkoha endangered?

The green 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 green malkoha?

The green malkoha (Ceuthmochares australis) 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). Green malkoha (Ceuthmochares australis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/green-malkoha

MLA

“Green malkoha (Ceuthmochares australis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/green-malkoha.

BibTeX
@misc{green_malkoha_2026,
  title = {Green malkoha (Ceuthmochares australis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/green-malkoha},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}