THE COMMON COUCAL, OE GROW-PHEASANT 
CentropHS sinensis bithutus {Horsf,} 
Malay name : — Bubut, 
DcscnpUon : — The adult of this, ilie larg-esl of our local 
cuckoos, is soon dt;sLTibed for with the exception of the wings 
f which are clicstiiut tlie whole bird is bhitk, faintly glossed with 
violet or green. Shelford tells us the \\s.y in which the crow- 
pheasant gfot this bicoloured plumage. He writes: **There is 
an amusing folk-tale concerning' this bird and the Argus 
Pheasant which runs as follows" : Once upon a tirne the Ruai 
(Argus Pheasant) and the Bubut met together in the jungle 
and agreed to disguise themselves with tatu marks, aa their 
enemies w^ere over-plentiful and vigilant. The Bubut tatuet! 
the Ruai in a very effective way, as the plumage of the bird 
bears witness to this day, but the Ruai was lazy and could not 
be bothered to tatu his friend in return; so, crying out that his 
enemies were approaching, he picked up the vessel containing 
the tatu-pigment, poured it over the Bubut s head and then 
hastily decamped : to this base treatment the Bubut owes its 
peculiar colouring''. 
The young bubut is largely barred black and rufous and, 
as in ttie other two cuckoos treated of in this book, its appear- 
ance is quite different from that of the adult bird. 
Irides red, bill and feet black. 
Length i8 to 19 inches: wing 8 or 9 inches. 
Distribution: — Ceylon and India up to South Chma and* 
down tlirough Burma and Stam 10 the Malay Peninsula, 
Borneo, Sumatra and Java, Within thts range there is suffi- 
cient variation in siae to warrant the recognition of several 
sub-species. 
Status i,n Singapore : — This bird is fairly common in Singa- 
pore but it is extremely local in its distribution and is almost 
exclusively found in open land^ covered with low scrub and 
long grass, particularly if the ground is in any way swampy. 
[•so] 
