Red-capped coua
Coua ruficeps G. R. Gray, 1846
The red-capped coua (Coua ruficeps) is a species in the family Cuculidae, order Cuculiformes. Recorded adults weigh 169 g to 180 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Quick facts about the red-capped coua
- Weight
- 169 g – 180 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
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the red-capped coua live?
Not recorded
What is the red-capped coua?
The red-capped coua (Coua ruficeps) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is endemic to northwest Madagascar.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.
The olive-capped coua was formerly treated as a subspecies of the red-capped coua but has been elevated to species status based on the differences in plumage and vocalisation.
From the Wikipedia article “Red-capped coua” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red-capped_coua&oldid=1340615602), 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 red-capped coua endangered?
The red-capped 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 red-capped coua classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCuculiformes
- familyCuculidae
- genusCoua
- SpeciesCoua ruficeps G. R. Gray, 1846
Synonyms Coua ruficeps ruficeps
Other names and names in other languages (40)
- RCCOEnglish
- كوا حمراء الرأسArabic
- coua de casquet rogencCatalan
- kukalka modrolícíCzech
- coa pengochWelsh
- Brunkronet SilkegøgDanish
- WeißkehlcouaGerman
- Rostkappen-SeidenkuckuckGerman
- Weißkehl-SeidenkuckuckGerman
- WeißkehlseidenkuckuckGerman
- rufĉapa kuaoEsperanto
- Cúa capirrojoSpanish
- punakiird-siidkäguEstonian
- punalakkikukuFinnish
- Coua à tête rousseFrench
- riđokapa kuaCroatian
- vörössapkás selyemkakukkHungarian
- Cua capirossoItalian
- アカボウシジカッコウJapanese
- rudakepurė madagaskarinė gegutėLithuanian
- AkokyMalagasy
- AliotseMalagasy
- Gory MandehetokanaMalagasy
- RoestkapcouaDutch
- RoestkopcouaDutch
- rødkronekoaNorwegian
- kuja rudogłowaPolish
- cua-de-coroa-vermelhaPortuguese
- cua-de-barrete-vermelhoPortuguese
- Рыжеголовая тивукаRussian
- Белогорлая мадагаскарская кукушкаRussian
- Красногорлая мадагаскарская кукушкаRussian
- koa červenohlaváSlovak
- Crvenokapa kuaSerbian
- rödhättad kouaSwedish
- Kırmızı kepli couaTurkish
- Kızıl Başlıklı KuaTurkish
- коуа рудоголовийUkrainian
- 紅頂馬島鵑Chinese
- 红顶马岛鹃Chinese
Relatives of the red-capped coua
Other species in the same genus Coua.

Blue coua
Coua caerulea
Delalande's coua
Coua delalandei

Crested coua
Coua cristata

Coquerel's coua
Coua coquereli

Giant coua
Coua gigas

Verreaux's coua
Coua verreauxi
CompareRed-capped coua vs Blue couaRed-capped coua vs Delalande's couaRed-capped coua vs Crested couaRed-capped coua vs Coquerel's coua
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the red-capped coua?
An adult red-capped coua weighs 169 g – 180 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the red-capped coua endangered?
The red-capped 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 red-capped coua?
The red-capped coua (Coua ruficeps) 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). Red-capped coua (Coua ruficeps). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-capped-coua
“Red-capped coua (Coua ruficeps).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-capped-coua.
@misc{red_capped_coua_2026,
title = {Red-capped coua (Coua ruficeps)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-capped-coua},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}