- Chrysococcyx xanthorhynchus
Identification
16cm (6 in)
Male
- Glossy violet upperparts and head
- Blackish tail with white tip, outer feathers barred
- Bright violet chin to upper breast
- White belly with broad black, green or violet bars
- Red eye-ring
- amethystinus is glossy blue-violet rather than reddish violet
Female
- Greenish bronze upperparts
- Dark brown crown
- White markings around eye and sometimes on forehead
- Greenish central tail, rest of tail rufous with greenish bars, outer rectrices barred black and white
- Whitish breast with bronze-green bars and variably washed rufous
Juveniles have barred rufous and greenish bronze upperparts, a bright rufous crown, rufous and green (or rufous and brown) wings, a barred brown and rufous tail and white brown-barred underparts.
Distribution
Found from northeast India and Bangladesh east to Burma, Thailand and southcentral China (Yunnan) and south to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia to peninsular Malaysia, including Singapore. Also on Sumatra, Java, Borneo and the Philippines.
Threatened due habitat loss.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 2 subspecies[1]:
- C.x. xanthorhynchus from northeast India to southeast Asia, Greater Sundas and Palawan
- C.x. amethystinus in the Philippines
It's sometimes placed in the genus Chalcites.
Habitat
Photo © by Karim Madoya
Inanam, Kota Kinabalu, Borneo, July 2007
Moist lowland forests and mangrove forests. Also in orchards, gardens and rubber plantations.
Occurs from lowlands up to 1500m, but mainly below 700m.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on insects, takes also fruit.
Forages by creeping up and down branches, also flycatches. Perches often motionless.
Breeding
A brood parasite. Known hosts are mainly sunbirds and spiderhunters.
Movements
Southern populations are resident, northern populations (e.g. in Assam and Bangladesh) appear to be migratory.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliot, and J Sargatal, eds. 1997. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 4: Sandgrouse to Cuckoos. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334221
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Violet Cuckoo. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 2 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Violet_Cuckoo
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
