Appearance
The adult Madagascar cuckoo-hawk has dark brown upperparts which are paler on the head and an off white rump. The underparts are white with the breast and upper breast and sides of the lower breast are heavily streaked with brown, these streaks becoming finer on the flanks, The tail has two narrow, pale bars and a pale tip. The underwing coverts are heavily barred with brown while the flight feathers have broad dark bands on their underside. At rest there is a short crest which projects from the rear crown. The juvenile is darker than the adult with white tips to the feathers obvious against the dark upperparts. Males and females are similar in size with a length of 300 mm and a wingspan of 850 mm .Distribution
The bird is endemic to Madagascar where it is reasonably common in the west, the north, and the east of the island. However, it is rather uncommon in the south and on the Central Plateau.Habitat
In Madagascar this species is found in most forest types, including commercial plantations of coconut and other palms. It has been recorded from sea level to 1,600 m in altitude. Most observation are made at the edges of forests or in clearings, it can also be seen in towns. It avoids the densest forests and the most arid or deforested areas in the south and the central plateau.References:
Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.
