Raffles's malkoha

{{short description|Species of bird}}

{{speciesbox

| image = Phaenicophaeus chlorophaeus.jpg

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| genus = Rhinortha

| parent_authority = Vigors, 1830

| species = chlorophaea

| authority = (Raffles, 1822)

| synonyms =

Cuculus chlorophaeus Raffles, 1822

Phaenicophaeus chlorophaeus (Raffles, 1822)

|status_ref={{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=Rhinortha chlorophaea |volume=2016 |page=e.T22684107A93014746 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22684107A93014746.en |access-date=17 November 2021}}

}}

Raffles's malkoha (Rhinortha chlorophaea) is a species of cuckoo (family Cuculidae). It was formerly often placed in Phaenicophaeus with the other malkohas, but it is a rather distinct species, with several autapomorphies and sexual dimorphism (which its presumed relatives all lack).

It might not even be very closely related to the true malkohas, but form a very basal lineage of cuckoos; in any case, its placement in a monotypic genus Rhinortha is well warranted.

It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand. It was once found in Singapore but is now considered extirpated.{{cite book |last1=Seng |first1=Lim Kim |last2=Li |first2=Yong Ding |last3=Chuah |first3=Lim Kim |title=Birds of Malaysia & Singapore |date=2020 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-20990-6 |page=144}} Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

Its diet consists of insects, including caterpillars, cicadas, crickets, beetles, and locusts.{{cite journal |last1=Das |first1=Indraneil |last2=Hazebroek |first2=Hans |last3=Grafe |first3=Ulmar |title=Leptomantis fasciatus (Boulenger, 1895) as a possible nuptial gift offered by a male Raffles's Malkoha, Rhinortha chlorophaea (Raffles, 1822) |journal=Herpetology Notes |date=2021 |volume=14 |url=https://www.biotaxa.org/hn/article/view/67579 |access-date=4 March 2025 |ref=herpnotes-frog}}

During courtship, the male Raffles's malkoha has been observed to stand on the base of the female's outstretched wings and hold a frog in its bill. It is unclear whether the frog is a gift to the female or whether the male keeps it afterward.