Name This Species

Thanks to everyone who guessed the species. It is a crested coua!

A crested coua chick hatched this week at the Central Park Zoo—making it one of the few of its kind living in a zoo in the United States. Want to know more about these 18- to 24-inch birds? Take our quiz below. Scroll past the image of the open-mouthed chick for the answers.

1. In which country are these birds native? Hint: It’s an island and there’s a cartoon with the same name. 
a. Fiji
b. Madagascar
c. Australia
d. Hawaii

2. True or False: Crested couas are members of the cuckoo family.

3. Why is it believed that coua chicks have bulls-eye patterns in their mouths?
a. So their parents know where to place food
b. To scare off predators
c. For archery practice
d. None of the above

4. True or False: Crested couas are endangered.

5. What’s the point of an adult coua’s awesome eye markings and beautiful crest?
a. To put on a show for other birds
b. To help it fly long distances and be seen in the sky
c. To prevent the species from needing a Halloween costume
d. To blend in to the shadows of its habitat

Answers

1. In which country are these birds native? Hint: It’s an island and there’s a cartoon with the same name. 
B, Madagascar, according to BirdLife. It’s easy to see why these colorful blue birds would want to live on this island nation, full of forest, savannah, and shrubland they desire. And here’s a refresher on the movie with the same name. It’s fitting given that Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman—a lion, zebra, giraffe, and hippo, respectively—leave their New York zoo to head home to their African land.

2. True or False: Crested couas are members of the cuckoo family.
True. They fall into the Cuculidae family, along with the yellow-billed cuckoo, the greater roadrunner, and the smooth- and groove-billed anis in North America and the common cuckoo in Europe.

3. Why is it believed that coua chicks have bulls-eye patterns in their mouths?
A, so their parents know where to place food. “The markings on the inside of a coua chick’s beak are believed to be used by the parents for identification or as a target to aid in feeding,” according to the Central Park Zoo. Accordingly, the chicks shows off their targets when they are ready for food.

4. True or False: Crested couas are endangered.
False. Though according to BirdLife, there are no total population estimates, the organization gives this bird a status of Least Concern, calling the population stable. With such amazing color, let’s hope the species stays that way!

5. What’s the point of an adult coua’s awesome eye markings and beautiful crest?
D, to blend in to the shadows of its habitat. Despite the hue of the eye makeup and the pointiness of the crest, these two characteristics actually help the birds keep a low profile, so they can blend into the trees and bush of their habitat, according to the San Diego Zoo.