---
title: "Burchell's Coucal"
description: "Centropus burchellii — Birds. Burchell's coucal (Centropus burchellii) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/burchell-s-coucal
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Burchell's Coucal

> Centropus burchellii — Birds. Burchell's coucal (Centropus burchellii) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae.

- Scientific name: *Centropus burchellii*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: unknown
- iNaturalist observations: 2985
- Wikidata: [Q1628224](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1628224)
- iNaturalist taxon: [1583337](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1583337)

## Names

- en: Burchell's Coucal
- es: Cucal de Burchell
- fr: Coucal de Burchell
- nl: Burchells spoorkoekoek
- pt: Cucal-de-burchell
- pl: Kukal białogardły

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (2670), MW (67), MZ (64), BW (29), SZ (23), ZW (15), TZ (12), ZM (3)

## Summary

Burchell's coucal (Centropus burchellii) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in the southeastern parts of sub-Saharan Africa. It inhabits areas with thick cover afforded by rank undergrowth and scrub, including in suitable coastal regions. Common names include gewone vleiloerie in Afrikaans and umGugwane or uFukwe in Zulu. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the white-browed coucal, which replaces it to the north and west. The juvenile plumages and calls of the two taxa are hardly distinguishable. The species is named after the British naturalist William John Burchell.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burchell%27s_coucal

## Photo

![Burchell's Coucal](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/burchell-s-coucal/medium.jpg)

Photo: Kelly Abram · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/194888099

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/burchell-s-coucal?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).