Brush Cuckoo

Cacomantis variolosus· 杜鹃科(4 photos)

Species Profile

IOC World Bird List

Sahul Brush Cuckoo

Cacomantis variolosus· Cuckoos, Coucals, Koels

20-23 cm. Plain small cuckoo: grey-brown above; grey breast washed buff; undertail-coverts buff. Tail squarer than Fan-tailed, with white notching on inner webs, white tips; eye-ring grey; legs grey-pink. Female usually similar to male but in the little-known barred morph the adult female resembles an immature, though less warm brown tones. Juvenile: more variegated pattern than imm. Fan-tailed: brown above with plentiful buff streaks and angular feather-margins; wing and tail feathers deeply notched buff; breast brokenly mottled, white underparts more openly barred dark brown. Singles, pairs, displaying parties: unobtrusive, but revealed by distinctive, incessant call. Perches in leafy trees; flies to take insects in foliage or on ground. Sustained flight swift, undulating, showing pale wingbar.

Similar Species
Fan-tailed Cuckoo: eye-ring, legs yellow; breast more cinnamon-buff; tail longer, pointed; notched white on outer feathers.
Voice
7-12 shrill, far-carrying, deliberate, descending notes, 'fear-fear-fear-fear ...', widely heard day/night in warmer months. Parties display with wild, shrill, repeated, rising phrases like 'where's-the-pippy?'.
Habitat
rainforests, forests, woodlands; alpine country in se. Aust. in summer; leafy trees on watercourses; swamp woodlands, mangroves, scrubby roadsides.
Breeding
Oct.-Feb. in se. Aust.; most months in n. Aust.
Eggs
1; whitish, with faint purplish brown and lavender markings; deposited in cup nest of robin; flycatcher, fantail, honeyeater; occasionally domed nest of gerygone, fairy-wren, scrubwren.
Range & Status
coastal n. and e. Aust.; regular breeding migrant to se. Aust., mostly in forests of Dividing Ra. in se. Q, NSW and e. Vic., arriving Sept.-Oct., departing Feb.-April; casual nw. Vic. mallee, adjacent SA. In n. Aust., both resident and passage migrant. Some migrate in winter to Solomon Is., PNG, Indonesia. Common in n., uncommon in s. Aust.

Related Bird Works

  1. Brush Cuckoo
    001Brush Cuckoo◔Occasional8.16
  2. Brush Cuckoo
    002Brush Cuckoo◔Occasional8.16
  3. Brush Cuckoo
    003Brush Cuckoo◔Occasional8.16
  4. Brush Cuckoo
    004Brush Cuckoo◔Occasional8.16