EBird describes the bird as " A fairly large bird of forest canopy and more open wooded areas from the lowlands to low elevations in the mountains. Often seen on exposed snags. Pale gray from the back of the neck down the back to the rump and the sides. The rest of the underparts and wings are black. Head mostly covered with bare pink skin. Unmistakable. Voice includes a mixture of clicks, squeals, metallic warbling, and piping notes."[3]
A captive coleto
In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the coleto in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in the Philippines. He used the French name Le merle chauve des Philippines and the Latin Mname "erula Calva Philippensis.[4] Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recogniszd by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.[5] WI 1766 , when the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson.[5] One of these was the coleto. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial nameGracula calva and cited Brisson's work.[6] The specific name is from Latin calvus "bald" or "without hair".[7] This species is now the only member of the genus Sarcops that was introduced by the English ornithologist Arthur Walden in 1875.[8] The name combines the Ancient Greek words sarx, sarkos "flesh" and ōps, ōpos "face" or "complexion".[9]
Feeds on fruit, berries, small insects and nectar. Forages singly, in pairs and occasionally in small groups of up to 25, in fruiting trees. Breeds from March to September. Nests in cavities in dead trees. Clutch size is typically 2 to 3 eggs.[11]
The Coleto was a recently discovered host of the brood parasitic Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus) in the Philippines.[12]
Habitat and conservation status
This bird's habitat is primary and secondary forest and scrubland up to 1,000 meters above sea level.
IUCN has assessed this bird as least-concern species as it has a large range and is common throughout. However, deforestation in the Philippines continues throughout the country due to slash and burn farming, mining, illegal logging and habitat conversion. It is widely caught for the pet trade as it has the ability to copy human speech. [13]
^ abAllen, J.A. (1910). "Collation of Brisson's genera of birds with those of Linnaeus". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 28: 317–335. hdl:2246/678.
^Jobling, J.A. (2018). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
^Jobling, J.A. (2018). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
