African Emerald Cuckoo

Photo by the late Jan Van den Broeck
Photo taken: St. Lucia, South Africa

Chrysococcyx cupreus

Identification

21-23cm

• Bright green upperparts
• White underwing edged brown
• Sulphur yellow underparts
• Tail feathers tipped white
• Orange eye
• Horn coloured bill

Distribution

Africa
Western Africa: Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland
African Islands: Gulf of Guinea Islands, Bioko (Fernando Po), Sao Tome, Principe

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 3 subspecies^[1]:

• C. c. cupreus:

• Africa south of the Sahara

• C. c. intermedius:

• Bioko (Gulf of Guinea)

• C. c. insularum:

• São Tomé, Príncipe and Pagalu (Gulf of Guinea)

Habitat

Evergreen and riverine forests.

Behaviour

The diet includes caterpillars.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Avibase

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) African Emerald Cuckoo. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/African_Emerald_Cuckoo

External Links

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