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Pallid Cuckoo - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Nora
Toolern Vale, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, September 2006
Cacomantis pallidus

Cuculus pallidus

Identification

Juvenile
Photo by Neil
Newcastle, New South Wales, AustraliaNovember 2003

31–32 cm (12¼-12½ in)

  • Grey upperparts,
  • Broad pale supercilium
  • Dark grey eye line
  • Pale nape patch
  • Whit bars on outer tail
  • Pale grey, unbarred, underparts
  • Yellow eyering
  • Greyish-brown legs and feet

Juveniles mottled brown and buff above and have a white nape spot. Streaked grey-brown and white below.

Distribution

Australasia and Southeast Asia

Taxonomy

Photo by Gallus
Mallacoota, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, October 2005

Some authorities place this species in the genus Cuculus.

This is a monotypic species[1].

Subspecies occidentalis is not generally recognised[2].

Habitat

Open forests and woodlands, as well as cleared and cultivated open country.

Behaviour

Diet

Their diet consists of hairy caterpillars, other insects and their larvae. Prey is spotted from low perch and is pounced on, usually on the ground. Some insects are taken from foliage.

Breeding

Juvenile
Photo by Hans&Judy Beste
Taromeo, S.E. Queensland, November 2017

They use other birds' nests, the female replacing one of the host eggs with her own.

Vocalisation

Call is a loud, ascending whistle too-too-too.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Avibase
  3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Nov 2017)
  4. Birds in Backyards

Recommended Citation

External Links

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