African cuckoo
African cuckoo | |
---|---|
Adult male in the Kruger National Park | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Cuculiformes
|
Family: | Cuculidae |
Genus: | Cuculus |
Species: | C. gularis
|
Binomial name | |
Cuculus gularis Stephens, 1815
|
The African cuckoo or African grey cuckoo (Cuculus gularis) is a species of
Description
This is a medium-sized species with a long tail, with a total length of 32 cm (13 in). Its dashing flight makes it resemble a bird of prey. The sexes are similar, the head, upper parts and wings being dark grey, the throat and breast pale grey and the belly white barred with dark grey. The tail is dark grey with dark barring and a white tip. The eye is yellow in the male and light brown in the female. The beak is yellow, tipped with black or horn. The legs and feet are yellowish. The juvenile has two colour forms; the grey morph is greyer than the adult with white barring, the underparts being creamy-white with dense dark barring; the hepatic morph is brown rather than grey, the white being replaced by buff or a tawny hue.[3] The call of the male is a "coo-coo" with the second note higher and louder than the first. The female utters a bubbling "Kwik-kwik-kwik".[4]
Distribution and habitat
The African cuckoo occurs in
Ecology
This species is generally solitary. It feeds in trees and on the ground for insects, foraging through the foliage and probing cattle dung. The diet consists mainly of both hairy and smooth caterpillars, but also includes other insects such as beetles and winged termites. It perches almost vertically. The male is territorial, and in southern Africa, a pair of African cuckoos occupy a territory of greater than 60 hectares (150 acres), driving off other cuckoos.[3][4]
Like many other
Status
C. gularis is a fairly common bird with a wide range. No particular threats have been identified and the population is believed to be steady, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".[1]
References
- ^ . Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ ISBN 0691010226.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4081-4267-7.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-850213-5.
- ^ Cambridge, University of. "Egg 'signatures' allow drongos to identify cuckoo 'forgeries' almost every time, study finds". phys.org. Retrieved 2023-07-27.