Alternative Names: African Baza, African Cuckoo Falcon
- Aviceda cuculoides
Identification
38–43 cm
- Brown head
- Black bill
- Bluish-grey throat
- Yellow legs
- Brown back
- Yellow eyes
Distribution
Sub-Saharan Africa. Breeds from Gambia and southern Senegal east to south-east Sudan, south-west Ethiopia and southern Kenya and south to southern Angola in the west and eastern South Africa in the east.
Mainly resident but a partial-migrant in the east and south. In coastal East Africa occurs mainly June-December.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Three or four subspecies recognised[1]:
- The nominate race is found from Senegal to Nigeria and Ethiopia to northern Zaire.
- Darker and more heavily barred A. c. batesi from Sierra Leone to western Zaire.
- A. c. verreauxi, larger, with white bars on chestnut underwing, from Angola to Kenya and south to South Africa.
Birds from north-east Zaire are sometimes separated as A. c. emini[2].
Habitat
Forest, woodland and secondary-growth, usually stays within dense cover except in display flight above forest.
Behaviour
Solitary and skulking.
Diet
The diet includes insects, especially grasshoppers, also small snakes, lizards, birds and rodents.
Breeding
Nesting takes place from September to February. Both adults build the platform nest of leafy twigs. The two chalky-white eggs have reddish-brown blotches and are incubated by both sexes or just the female, for 32-33 days. The young are fed by both parents and fledge after about a month.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved August 2014)
- Wikipedia
- Planet of Birds
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) African Cuckoo-Hawk. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 17 March 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/African_Cuckoo-Hawk
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
