Cuckoo
Encyclopedia
The cuckoos are a family, Cuculidae, of near passerine
bird
s. The order Cuculiformes
, in addition to the cuckoos, also includes the turaco
s (family Musophagidae
, sometimes treated as a separate order, Musophagiformes). Some zoologists and taxonomists have also included the unique Hoatzin
in the Cuculiformes, but its taxonomy remains in dispute. The cuckoo family, in addition to those species named as such, also includes the roadrunner
s, koel
s, malkohas, coua
s, coucal
s and anis
. The coucals and anis are sometimes separated as distinct families, the Centropodidae and Crotophagidae
respectively.
The cuckoos are generally medium sized slender birds. The majority are arboreal, with a sizeable minority that are terrestrial
. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution
, with the majority of species being tropical. The temperate species are migratory
. The cuckoos feed on insects, insect larvae and a variety of other animals, as well as fruit. Many species are brood parasite
s, laying their eggs in the nests of other species, but the majority of species raise their own young.
Cuckoos are medium sized birds that range in size from the Little Bronze Cuckoo, at 17 g and 15 cm (6 inches), to the Channel-billed Cuckoo
, at 630 g (1.4 lbs) and 63 cm (25 inches). There is generally little sexual dimorphism
in size, but where it exists, it can be either the male or the female that is larger. One of the most important distinguishing features of the family are the feet, which are zygodactyl, meaning that the two inner toes pointed forward and the two outer backward. There are two basic body forms, arboreal species (like the Common Cuckoo
) which are slender and have short tarsi
, and terrestrial species (like the roadrunners
) which are more heavy set and have long tarsi. Almost all species have long tails which are used for steering in terrestrial species and as a rudder during flight
in the arboreal species. The wing shape also varies with lifestyle, with the more migratory
species like the Black-billed Cuckoo
possessing long narrow wings capable of strong direct flight, and the more terrestrial and sedentary cuckoos like the coucal
s and malkohas having shorter rounded wings and a more laboured gliding flight.
The subfamily Cuculinae are the brood-parasitic cuckoos of the Old World. They tend to conform to the classic shape, with (usually) long tails, short legs, long narrow wings and an arboreal lifestyle. The largest species, the Channel-billed Cuckoo, also has the most outsized bill
in the family, resembling that of a hornbill
. The subfamily Phaenicophaeinae are the non-parasitic cuckoos of the Old World, and include the couas, malkohas, and ground-cuckoos. They are more terrestrial cuckoos, with strong and often long legs and short rounded wings. The subfamily typically has brighter plumage and brightly coloured bare skin around the eye. The coucal
s are another terrestrial subfamily of long tailed long legged and short winged cuckoos. They are large heavyset birds with the largest, the Greater Black Coucal
, being around the same size as the Channel-billed Cuckoo. The subfamily Coccyzinae are arboreal and long tailed as well, with a number of large insular forms. The New World ground cuckoos
are similar to the Asian ground-cuckoos
in being long legged and terrestrial, and includes the long billed roadrunner
, which can reach speeds of 30 km/h when chasing prey. The final subfamily are the atypical anis
, which include the small clumsy anis
and the larger Guira Cuckoo. The anis have massive bills and smooth glossy feathers.
The feather
s of the cuckoos are generally soft, and often become waterlogged in heavy rain. Cuckoos will often sun themselves after rain, and the anis will hold their wings open in the manner of a vulture
or cormorant
while drying. There is considerable variation in the plumage
exhibited by the family. Some species, particularly the brood parasite
s have cryptic
plumage, whereas others have bright and elaborate plumage. This is particularly true of the Chrysococcyx
or glossy cuckoos, which have iridescent plumage. Some cuckoos have a resemblance to hawks with barring on the underside; this apparently alarms potential hosts, allowing the female to access a host nest. The young of some brood parasites are coloured so as to resemble the young of the host. For example, the Asian Koel
s breeding in India
have black offspring to resemble their crow
hosts, whereas in the Australian Koels the chicks are brown like the honeyeater
hosts. Sexual dimorphism
in plumage is uncommon in the cuckoos, being most common in the parasitic Old World species.
Cuckoo genera differ in the number of primary wing feathers as below.
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The cuckoos have a cosmopolitan distribution
, ranging across all the world's continents except Antarctica. They are absent from the south west of South America
, the far north and north west of North America
, and the driest areas of the Middle East
and North Africa
(although they occur there as passage migrants
). They generally only occur as vagrants
in the oceanic islands of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean
s, but one species breeds on a number of Pacific islands and another is a winter migrant across much of the Pacific.
The Cuculinae is the most widespread subfamily of cuckoos, and is distributed across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and Oceania. Amongst the Phaenicophaeinae cuckoos the malkohas and Asian ground-cuckoos are restricted to southern Asia, the couas are endemic to Madagascar
and the Yellowbill
widespread across Africa. The coucals are distributed from Africa through tropical Asia down into Australia and the Solomon Islands
. The remaining three subfamilies have a New World distribution, all three are found in both North
and South America
. The Coccyzinae reaches the furthest north of the three subfamilies, breeding in Canada
, whereas the anis reach as far north as Florida
and the typical ground-cuckoos the south west United States.
For the cuckoos suitable habitat provides a source of food (principally insects and especially caterpillars) and a place to breed, for brood parasite
s the need is for suitable habitat for the host species. Cuckoos occur in a wide variety of habitat
s. The majority of species occur in forests and woodland, principally in the evergreen rainforests of the tropics. Some species inhabit or are even restricted to mangrove
forests; these include the Little Bronze Cuckoo of Australia
, some malkohas, coucals, and the aptly named mangrove Cuckoo
of the New World
. In addition to forests come species of cuckoo occupy more open environments; this can include even arid areas like deserts in the case of the Greater Roadrunner
or the Pallid Cuckoo
. Temperate migratory species like the Common Cuckoo inhabit a wide range of habitats in order to make maximum use of the potential brood hosts, from reed beds (where they parasitise Reed Warbler
s) to treeless moors (where they parasitise Meadow Pipit
s).
, and several more undertake partial migrations over part of their range. The migration is Diurnal, as in the Channel-billed Cuckoo
, or nocturnal, as in the Yellow-billed Cuckoo
. For species breeding at higher latitudes, food availability means that they migrate to warmer climates during the winter, and all do so. The Long-tailed Koel
, which breeds in New Zealand, flies to its wintering grounds in Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia, a feat described as "perhaps the most remarkable overwater migration of any land bird." The Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Black-billed Cuckoo
breed in North America and fly across the Caribbean Sea
, a non-stop flight of 4000 km. Other long migration flights include the Lesser Cuckoo
, which flies from Africa
to India
, and the Common Cuckoo
s of Europe, which fly non-stop over the Mediterranean Sea
and Sahara Desert on their voyage to southern Africa. Within Africa 10 species make regular intra-continental migrations that are described as polarised, that is they spend the non-breeding season in the tropical centre of the continent and move north and south to breed in the more arid and open savannah and deserts. This is the same as the situation in the Neotropics, where no species have this migration pattern, or tropical Asia, where a single species does. 83% of the Australian species are partial migrants within Australia or travel to New Guinea
and Indonesia
after the breeding season.
of the Americas
which have evolved cooperative breeding and other social behaviours. For the most part the cuckoos are also diurnal as opposed to nocturnal, but many species will call at night (see below). The cuckoos are also generally a shy and retiring family, more often heard than seen. The exception to this are again the anis, which are often extremely confiding towards humans and other species.
, and in particular are specialised in eating larger insects and caterpillar
s, including noxious hairy types avoided by other birds. They are unusual among birds in processing their prey prior to swallowing, rubbing it back and forth on hard objects such as branches and then crushing it with special bony plates in the back of the mouth. They will also take a wide range of other insects and animal prey. The lizard-cuckoo
s of the Caribbean
have, in the relative absence of birds of prey, specialised in taking lizards. Larger, ground types such as coucals and roadrunners also feed variously on snakes, lizards, small rodents, and other birds, which they bludgeon with their strong bills. Ground species may employ different techniques to catch prey. A study of two coua
species in Madagascar
found that the Coquerel's Coua
obtained prey by walking and gleaning on the forest floor, whereas the Red-capped Coua
ran and pounced on prey. Both species also showed seasonal flexibility in prey and foraging techniques. The parasitic cuckoos are generally not recorded as participating in mixed-species feeding flock
s, although some studies in eastern Australia found several species would participate in the non-breeding season, but were mobbed and unable to do so in the breeding season. Ground-cuckoos of the genus Neomorphus
are sometimes seen feeding in association with army ant
swarms, although they are not obligate ant-follower
s as are some antbird
s. The anis are ground feeders that follow cattle and other large mammals when foraging; in a similar fashion to Cattle Egret
s they snatch prey flushed by the cattle and enjoy higher foraging success rates in this way.
Several koel
s, coua
s, and the Channel-billed Cuckoo
feed mainly on fruit, but they are not exclusively frugivore
s. The parasitic koels and Channel-billed Cuckoo in particular consume mainly fruit when raised by frugivore hosts such as the Australasian Figbird
and Pied Currawong
. Other species will occasionally take fruit as well. Couas consume fruit in the dry season when prey is harder to find.
, but there are exceptions. The anis and the Guira Cuckoo lay their eggs in communal nests, although this behaviour is not completely cooperative; a female may remove others' eggs when laying hers. Polyandry
has been confirmed in the African Black Coucal
and is suspected to occur in the other coucals, perhaps explaining the reversed sexual dimorphism in the group. The majority of cuckoo species, including malkohas, couas, coucals, and roadrunners and most other American cuckoos, build their own nests, although a large minority engage in brood parasitism (see below). Most of these species nest in trees or bushes, but the coucals lay their eggs in nests on the ground or in low shrubs. Though on some occasions non-parasitic cuckoos parasitize other species, the parent still helps feed the chick.
Non-parasitic cuckoos, like most other non-passerines, lay white eggs, but many of the parasitic species lay coloured eggs to match those of their passerine
hosts.
The young of all species are altricial
. Non-parasitic cuckoos leave the nest before they can fly, and some New World species have the shortest incubation periods among birds.
About 56 of the Old World
species and 3 of the New World
species are brood parasite
s, laying their egg
s in the nests of other birds. These species are obligate brood parasites, meaning that they only reproduce in this fashion. In addition to the above noted species, yet others sometimes engage in non-obligate brood parasitism, laying their eggs in the nests of members of their own species in addition to raising their own young. The best-known example is the European Common Cuckoo
. The shells of the eggs of brood-parasites is usually thick. They have two distinct layers with an outer chalky layer that is believed to provide resistance to cracking when the eggs are dropped in the host nest. The cuckoo egg hatches earlier than the host's, and the cuckoo chick grows faster; in most cases the chick evicts the eggs or young of the host species. The chick has no time to learn this behavior, so it must be an instinct
passed on genetically. The chick encourages the host to keep pace with its high growth rate with its rapid begging call and the chick's open mouth which serves as a sign stimulus.
Cuckoos have evolved various strategies for getting their egg into a host nest. Different species use different strategies based on host defensive strategies. Female cuckoos have evolved secretive and fast laying behaviors, but in some cases, males have been shown to lure host adults away from their nests so that the female can lay her egg in the nest . Some species of cuckoo Host species may try directly preventing cuckoos laying eggs in their nest in the first place – birds whose nests are at high risk of cuckoo-contamination are known to mob cuckoos to drive them out of the area. Parasitic cuckoos are grouped into gentes
, with each gens specializing in a particular host. There is some evidence that the gentes are genetically different from one another.
Female parasitic cuckoos sometimes specialize and lay eggs that closely resemble the eggs of their chosen host. This has been produced by natural selection
, as some birds are able to distinguish cuckoo eggs from their own, leading to those eggs least like the host's being thrown out of the nest. Parasitic cuckoos that show the highest levels of egg mimicry are those whose hosts exhibit high levels of egg rejection behavior. Some hosts do not exhibit egg rejection behavior and the cuckoo eggs look very dissimilar from the host eggs. It has also been shown in a study of the European cuckoos that females will lay their egg in the nest of a host that has eggs that look similar to its own . Other species of cuckoo lay "cryptic" eggs, which are dark in color when their hosts' eggs are light . This is a trick to hide the egg from the host, and has evolved in cuckoos that parasitize hosts with dark, domed nests. Some parasitic cuckoos have been shown to exhibit "Mafia-like" enforcement, in which adult cuckoos will completely destroy the host's clutch if they reject the cuckoo egg. In this case, raising the cuckoo chick is less of a cost than the alternative--total clutch destruction.
Cuckoos are often highly secretive and in many cases best known for their wide repertoire of calls
. Calls are usually relatively simple, resembling whistles, flutes, or hiccups. The calls are used in order to demonstrate ownership of a territory
and to attract a mate. Within a species the calls are remarkably consistent across the range, even in species with very large ranges. This suggests, along with the fact that many species are not raised by their true parents, that the calls of cuckoos are innate and not learnt. Although cuckoos are diurnal, many species call at night. The cuckoo family gets its English and scientific names from the call of the Common Cuckoo
, which is also familiar from cuckoo clock
s. Some of the names of other species and genera are also derived from their calls, for example the koel
s of Asia
and Australasia
. In most cuckoos the calls are distinctive to particular species, and are useful for identification. Several cryptic species are best identified on the basis of their calls.
Near passerine
Near passerine or higher land-bird assemblage are terms often given to arboreal birds or those most often believed to be related to the true passerines due to ecological similarities; the group corresponds to some extent with the Anomalogonatae of Garrod All near passerines are land birds...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s. The order Cuculiformes
Cuculiformes
The near passerine bird order Cuculiformes traditionally included three families as below:* Musophagidae - turacos and allies* Cuculidae - cuckoos, coucals, roadrunners and anis* Opisthocomidae - Hoatzin...
, in addition to the cuckoos, also includes the turaco
Turaco
The turacos make up the bird family Musophagidae , which includes plantain-eaters and go-away-birds. In southern Africa both turacos and go-away-birds are commonly known as louries. They are semi-zygodactylous - the fourth toe can be switched back and forth...
s (family Musophagidae
Turaco
The turacos make up the bird family Musophagidae , which includes plantain-eaters and go-away-birds. In southern Africa both turacos and go-away-birds are commonly known as louries. They are semi-zygodactylous - the fourth toe can be switched back and forth...
, sometimes treated as a separate order, Musophagiformes). Some zoologists and taxonomists have also included the unique Hoatzin
Hoatzin
The Hoatzin , also known as the Hoactzin, Stinkbird, or Canje Pheasant, is a species of tropical bird found in swamps, riverine forest and mangrove of the Amazon and the Orinoco delta in South America...
in the Cuculiformes, but its taxonomy remains in dispute. The cuckoo family, in addition to those species named as such, also includes the roadrunner
Geococcyx
The roadrunners are two species of bird in the genus Geococcyx of the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, native to North and Central America...
s, koel
Koel
The true koels, Eudynamys, are a genus of cuckoos from Asia, Australia and the Pacific. They are large sexually dimorphic cuckoos which eat fruits and insects and have loud distinctive calls. They are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species.In New Zealand the Long-tailed...
s, malkohas, coua
Coua
Couas are large, mostly terrestrial birds of the cuckoo family, endemic to the island of Madagascar. Coua derives from koa, the Malagasy name for a cuckoo or coua, which is in turn an onomatopoeic of some species' call notes....
s, coucal
Coucal
A coucal is one of about 30 species of birds in the cuckoo family. All of them belong in the subfamily Centropodinae and the genus Centropus. Unlike many Old World cuckoos, coucals are not brood parasites...
s and anis
Ani (bird)
The anis are the three species of near-passerine birds in the genus Crotophaga of the cuckoo family. They are essentially tropical New world birds, although the range of two species just reaches the United States...
. The coucals and anis are sometimes separated as distinct families, the Centropodidae and Crotophagidae
Crotophagidae
The anis are a small family of gregarious birds occurring in the Americas. They are part of the cuckoo order Cuculiformes and are sometimes placed as a subfamily Crotophaginae within the cuckoo family Cuculidae....
respectively.
The cuckoos are generally medium sized slender birds. The majority are arboreal, with a sizeable minority that are terrestrial
Terrestrial animal
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...
. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution
Cosmopolitan distribution
In biogeography, a taxon is said to have a cosmopolitan distribution if its range extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. For instance, the killer whale has a cosmopolitan distribution, extending over most of the world's oceans. Other examples include humans, the lichen...
, with the majority of species being tropical. The temperate species are migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
. The cuckoos feed on insects, insect larvae and a variety of other animals, as well as fruit. Many species are brood parasite
Brood parasite
Brood parasites are organisms that use the strategy of brood parasitism, a kind of kleptoparasitism found among birds, fish or insects, involving the manipulation and use of host individuals either of the same or different species to raise the young of the brood-parasite...
s, laying their eggs in the nests of other species, but the majority of species raise their own young.
Morphology
Channel-billed Cuckoo
The Channel-billed Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Scythrops. The species is the largest brood parasite in the world, and the largest cuckoo....
, at 630 g (1.4 lbs) and 63 cm (25 inches). There is generally little sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...
in size, but where it exists, it can be either the male or the female that is larger. One of the most important distinguishing features of the family are the feet, which are zygodactyl, meaning that the two inner toes pointed forward and the two outer backward. There are two basic body forms, arboreal species (like the Common Cuckoo
Common Cuckoo
The Common Cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals....
) which are slender and have short tarsi
Tarsus (skeleton)
In tetrapods, the tarsus is a cluster of articulating bones in each foot situated between the lower end of tibia and fibula of the lower leg and the metatarsus. In the foot the tarsus articulates with the bones of the metatarsus, which in turn articulate with the bones of the individual toes...
, and terrestrial species (like the roadrunners
Geococcyx
The roadrunners are two species of bird in the genus Geococcyx of the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, native to North and Central America...
) which are more heavy set and have long tarsi. Almost all species have long tails which are used for steering in terrestrial species and as a rudder during flight
Bird flight
Flight is the main mode of locomotion used by most of the world's bird species. Flight assists birds while feeding, breeding and avoiding predators....
in the arboreal species. The wing shape also varies with lifestyle, with the more migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
species like the Black-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
The Black-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus erythropthalmus, is a cuckoo.Adults have a long brown tail and a black bill. The head and upper parts are brown and the underparts are white. There is a red ring around the eye. Juveniles are drabber, and the eye ring is greenish.Their breeding habitat is edges of...
possessing long narrow wings capable of strong direct flight, and the more terrestrial and sedentary cuckoos like the coucal
Coucal
A coucal is one of about 30 species of birds in the cuckoo family. All of them belong in the subfamily Centropodinae and the genus Centropus. Unlike many Old World cuckoos, coucals are not brood parasites...
s and malkohas having shorter rounded wings and a more laboured gliding flight.
The subfamily Cuculinae are the brood-parasitic cuckoos of the Old World. They tend to conform to the classic shape, with (usually) long tails, short legs, long narrow wings and an arboreal lifestyle. The largest species, the Channel-billed Cuckoo, also has the most outsized bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
in the family, resembling that of a hornbill
Hornbill
Hornbills are a family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly-colored and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandible. Both the common English and the scientific name of the family...
. The subfamily Phaenicophaeinae are the non-parasitic cuckoos of the Old World, and include the couas, malkohas, and ground-cuckoos. They are more terrestrial cuckoos, with strong and often long legs and short rounded wings. The subfamily typically has brighter plumage and brightly coloured bare skin around the eye. The coucal
Coucal
A coucal is one of about 30 species of birds in the cuckoo family. All of them belong in the subfamily Centropodinae and the genus Centropus. Unlike many Old World cuckoos, coucals are not brood parasites...
s are another terrestrial subfamily of long tailed long legged and short winged cuckoos. They are large heavyset birds with the largest, the Greater Black Coucal
Greater Black Coucal
The Ivory-billed Coucal or Greater Black Coucal is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests....
, being around the same size as the Channel-billed Cuckoo. The subfamily Coccyzinae are arboreal and long tailed as well, with a number of large insular forms. The New World ground cuckoos
Neomorphinae
Neomorphinae is a subfamily of the cuckoo family, Cuculidae. Members of this subfamily are known as New World ground cuckoos, since most are largely terrestrial and native to the Americas...
are similar to the Asian ground-cuckoos
Carpococcyx
Carpococcyx is a genus of large terrestrial cuckoos in the Cuculidae family. They are restriced to humid forested regions in Southeast Asia...
in being long legged and terrestrial, and includes the long billed roadrunner
Geococcyx
The roadrunners are two species of bird in the genus Geococcyx of the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, native to North and Central America...
, which can reach speeds of 30 km/h when chasing prey. The final subfamily are the atypical anis
Crotophagidae
The anis are a small family of gregarious birds occurring in the Americas. They are part of the cuckoo order Cuculiformes and are sometimes placed as a subfamily Crotophaginae within the cuckoo family Cuculidae....
, which include the small clumsy anis
Ani (bird)
The anis are the three species of near-passerine birds in the genus Crotophaga of the cuckoo family. They are essentially tropical New world birds, although the range of two species just reaches the United States...
and the larger Guira Cuckoo. The anis have massive bills and smooth glossy feathers.
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
s of the cuckoos are generally soft, and often become waterlogged in heavy rain. Cuckoos will often sun themselves after rain, and the anis will hold their wings open in the manner of a vulture
Vulture
Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
or cormorant
Cormorant
The bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.- Names :...
while drying. There is considerable variation in the plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
exhibited by the family. Some species, particularly the brood parasite
Brood parasite
Brood parasites are organisms that use the strategy of brood parasitism, a kind of kleptoparasitism found among birds, fish or insects, involving the manipulation and use of host individuals either of the same or different species to raise the young of the brood-parasite...
s have cryptic
Cryptic
Cryptic can refer to:* Crypsis, of animals that are difficult to observe* Cryptic crossword, a crossword with cryptic clues* Cryptic era, earliest period of the Earth* Cryptic, an album by Edge of Sanity* Cryptic Writings, an album by Megadeth...
plumage, whereas others have bright and elaborate plumage. This is particularly true of the Chrysococcyx
Chrysococcyx
Chrysococcyx is a genus of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family.It contains the following species:* Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo * Pied Bronze Cuckoo * African Emerald Cuckoo...
or glossy cuckoos, which have iridescent plumage. Some cuckoos have a resemblance to hawks with barring on the underside; this apparently alarms potential hosts, allowing the female to access a host nest. The young of some brood parasites are coloured so as to resemble the young of the host. For example, the Asian Koel
Asian Koel
The Asian Koel is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. It is found in South Asia, China, and Southeast Asia. It forms a superspecies with the closely related Black-billed and Pacific Koels which are sometimes treated as subspecies...
s breeding in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
have black offspring to resemble their crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
hosts, whereas in the Australian Koels the chicks are brown like the honeyeater
Honeyeater
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea, but also found in New Zealand, the Pacific islands as far east as Samoa and Tonga, and the islands to the north and west of New Guinea known as Wallacea...
hosts. Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...
in plumage is uncommon in the cuckoos, being most common in the parasitic Old World species.
Cuckoo genera differ in the number of primary wing feathers as below.
- CoccycuaCoccycuaCoccycua is a small genus of birds in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae. Its three species are found in the tropical Americas.Formerly, they were divided among in Coccyza and Piaya , or the former were assigned to Micrococcyx and only the latter to Coccycua...
, CoccyzusCoccyzusCoccyzus is a genus of cuckoos which occur in the Americas.-Species and taxonomy:The species in taxonomic order are:* Black-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus erythropthalmus* Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus...
, PhaenicophaeusPhaenicophaeusMalkohas are large birds in the cuckoo family Cuculidae, all in the genus Phaenicophaeus. The group name is derived from the Sinhala word for the Red-faced Malkoha; Mal-Koha meaning flower-cuckoo. These are all Asian tropical species. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek phoiniko-...
, PiayaPiayaPiaya is a small genus of relatively large and long-tailed cuckoos, which occur in Mexico, Central America and South America. The two species in taxonomic order are:* Squirrel Cuckoo, Piaya cayana* Black-bellied Cuckoo, Piaya melanogaster...
– 9 - CuculusCuculusCuculus is a genus of cuckoos which has representatives in most of the Old World, although the greatest diversity is in tropical southern and southeastern Asia...
– 9 or 10 - Pachycoccyx, Clamator levaillantii, Centropus – 10
- Microdynamis, Eudynamys, Clamator glandariusGreat Spotted CuckooThe Great Spotted Cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals....
– 11 - Some coucalCoucalA coucal is one of about 30 species of birds in the cuckoo family. All of them belong in the subfamily Centropodinae and the genus Centropus. Unlike many Old World cuckoos, coucals are not brood parasites...
s – 12 - Scythrops novaehollandiaeChannel-billed CuckooThe Channel-billed Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Scythrops. The species is the largest brood parasite in the world, and the largest cuckoo....
– 13
Distribution and habitat
Cosmopolitan distribution
In biogeography, a taxon is said to have a cosmopolitan distribution if its range extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. For instance, the killer whale has a cosmopolitan distribution, extending over most of the world's oceans. Other examples include humans, the lichen...
, ranging across all the world's continents except Antarctica. They are absent from the south west of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, the far north and north west of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and the driest areas of the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
(although they occur there as passage migrants
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
). They generally only occur as vagrants
Vagrancy (biology)
Vagrancy is a phenomenon in biology whereby individual animals appear well outside their normal range; individual animals which exhibit vagrancy are known as vagrants. The term accidental is sometimes also used...
in the oceanic islands of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
s, but one species breeds on a number of Pacific islands and another is a winter migrant across much of the Pacific.
The Cuculinae is the most widespread subfamily of cuckoos, and is distributed across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and Oceania. Amongst the Phaenicophaeinae cuckoos the malkohas and Asian ground-cuckoos are restricted to southern Asia, the couas are endemic to Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and the Yellowbill
Yellowbill
The Yellowbill is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. The species is sometimes known as the Green Malkoha. It is monotypic within the genus Ceuthmochares. There are three subspecies that display some differences in plumage colouration; all subspecies have a greyish belly, head and throat...
widespread across Africa. The coucals are distributed from Africa through tropical Asia down into Australia and the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
. The remaining three subfamilies have a New World distribution, all three are found in both North
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. The Coccyzinae reaches the furthest north of the three subfamilies, breeding in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, whereas the anis reach as far north as Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and the typical ground-cuckoos the south west United States.
For the cuckoos suitable habitat provides a source of food (principally insects and especially caterpillars) and a place to breed, for brood parasite
Brood parasite
Brood parasites are organisms that use the strategy of brood parasitism, a kind of kleptoparasitism found among birds, fish or insects, involving the manipulation and use of host individuals either of the same or different species to raise the young of the brood-parasite...
s the need is for suitable habitat for the host species. Cuckoos occur in a wide variety of habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s. The majority of species occur in forests and woodland, principally in the evergreen rainforests of the tropics. Some species inhabit or are even restricted to mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
forests; these include the Little Bronze Cuckoo of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, some malkohas, coucals, and the aptly named mangrove Cuckoo
Mangrove Cuckoo
The Mangrove Cuckoo, Coccyzus minor, is a species of cuckoo that is native to the Neotropics.Adults have a long tail, brown above and black-and-white below, and a black curved bill with yellow on the lower mandible. The head and upper parts are brown. There is a yellow ring around the eye...
of the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
. In addition to forests come species of cuckoo occupy more open environments; this can include even arid areas like deserts in the case of the Greater Roadrunner
Greater Roadrunner
The Greater Roadrunner, taxonomically classified as Geococcyx californianus, meaning "Californian Earth-cuckoo," is a long-legged bird in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae. Along with the Lesser Roadrunner, it is one of two species in the roadrunner genus Geococcyx...
or the Pallid Cuckoo
Pallid Cuckoo
The Pallid Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family.It is found in Australia, Christmas Island, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea....
. Temperate migratory species like the Common Cuckoo inhabit a wide range of habitats in order to make maximum use of the potential brood hosts, from reed beds (where they parasitise Reed Warbler
Reed Warbler
The Eurasian Reed Warbler, or just Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus scirpaceus, is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds across Europe into temperate western Asia. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa....
s) to treeless moors (where they parasitise Meadow Pipit
Meadow Pipit
The Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis, is a small passerine bird which breeds in much of the northern half of Europe and also northwestern Asia, from southeastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; there is also an isolated...
s).
Migration
Most species of cuckoo are sedentary, and some species of cuckoo undertake regular seasonal migrationsBird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
, and several more undertake partial migrations over part of their range. The migration is Diurnal, as in the Channel-billed Cuckoo
Channel-billed Cuckoo
The Channel-billed Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Scythrops. The species is the largest brood parasite in the world, and the largest cuckoo....
, or nocturnal, as in the Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
The Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus, is a cuckoo. Common folk-names for this bird in the southern United States are Rain Crow and Storm Crow...
. For species breeding at higher latitudes, food availability means that they migrate to warmer climates during the winter, and all do so. The Long-tailed Koel
Long-tailed Cuckoo
The Long-tailed Cuckoo , also known as the Long-tailed Koel or the Koekoeā in Māori, is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family...
, which breeds in New Zealand, flies to its wintering grounds in Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia, a feat described as "perhaps the most remarkable overwater migration of any land bird." The Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Black-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
The Black-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus erythropthalmus, is a cuckoo.Adults have a long brown tail and a black bill. The head and upper parts are brown and the underparts are white. There is a red ring around the eye. Juveniles are drabber, and the eye ring is greenish.Their breeding habitat is edges of...
breed in North America and fly across the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
, a non-stop flight of 4000 km. Other long migration flights include the Lesser Cuckoo
Lesser Cuckoo
The Lesser Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family.It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Kenya, North Korea, South Korea, Laos, Malawi, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka,...
, which flies from Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and the Common Cuckoo
Common Cuckoo
The Common Cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals....
s of Europe, which fly non-stop over the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
and Sahara Desert on their voyage to southern Africa. Within Africa 10 species make regular intra-continental migrations that are described as polarised, that is they spend the non-breeding season in the tropical centre of the continent and move north and south to breed in the more arid and open savannah and deserts. This is the same as the situation in the Neotropics, where no species have this migration pattern, or tropical Asia, where a single species does. 83% of the Australian species are partial migrants within Australia or travel to New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
after the breeding season.
Behaviour
The cuckoos are for the most part solitary birds that seldom occur in pairs or groups. The biggest exception to this are the anisAni (bird)
The anis are the three species of near-passerine birds in the genus Crotophaga of the cuckoo family. They are essentially tropical New world birds, although the range of two species just reaches the United States...
of the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
which have evolved cooperative breeding and other social behaviours. For the most part the cuckoos are also diurnal as opposed to nocturnal, but many species will call at night (see below). The cuckoos are also generally a shy and retiring family, more often heard than seen. The exception to this are again the anis, which are often extremely confiding towards humans and other species.
Feeding
Most cuckoos are insectivorousInsectivore
An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures. An alternate term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of eating insects....
, and in particular are specialised in eating larger insects and caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
s, including noxious hairy types avoided by other birds. They are unusual among birds in processing their prey prior to swallowing, rubbing it back and forth on hard objects such as branches and then crushing it with special bony plates in the back of the mouth. They will also take a wide range of other insects and animal prey. The lizard-cuckoo
Saurothera
Saurothera was a genus of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. This genus was dissolved and all species were lumped into Coccyzus .Former Saurothera species:* Hispaniolan Lizard Cuckoo...
s of the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
have, in the relative absence of birds of prey, specialised in taking lizards. Larger, ground types such as coucals and roadrunners also feed variously on snakes, lizards, small rodents, and other birds, which they bludgeon with their strong bills. Ground species may employ different techniques to catch prey. A study of two coua
Coua
Couas are large, mostly terrestrial birds of the cuckoo family, endemic to the island of Madagascar. Coua derives from koa, the Malagasy name for a cuckoo or coua, which is in turn an onomatopoeic of some species' call notes....
species in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
found that the Coquerel's Coua
Coquerel's Coua
The Coquerel's Coua is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family.It is endemic to Madagascar.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.-References:...
obtained prey by walking and gleaning on the forest floor, whereas the Red-capped Coua
Red-capped Coua
The Red-capped Coua is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family.It is endemic to Madagascar.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
ran and pounced on prey. Both species also showed seasonal flexibility in prey and foraging techniques. The parasitic cuckoos are generally not recorded as participating in mixed-species feeding flock
Mixed-species feeding flock
A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species, that join each other and move together while foraging...
s, although some studies in eastern Australia found several species would participate in the non-breeding season, but were mobbed and unable to do so in the breeding season. Ground-cuckoos of the genus Neomorphus
Neomorphus
Neomorphus is a genus of terrestrial cuckoos in the Cuculidae family. Despite their relatively large size, they are highly inconspicuous and rarely seen...
are sometimes seen feeding in association with army ant
Army ant
The name army ant is applied to over 200 ant species, in different lineages, due to their aggressive predatory foraging groups, known as "raids", in which huge numbers of ants forage simultaneously over a certain area, attacking prey en masse.Another shared feature is that, unlike most ant...
swarms, although they are not obligate ant-follower
Ant-follower
Ant-followers are birds that feed by following swarms of army ants and take prey flushed by those ants. The best known ant-followers are 18 species of antbird in the family Thamnophilidae, but other families of birds may follow ants including thrushes, chats, ant-tanagers, cuckoos, and...
s as are some antbird
Antbird
The antbirds are a large family, Thamnophilidae, of passerine birds found across subtropical and tropical Central and South America, from Mexico to Argentina. There are more than 200 species, known variously as antshrikes, antwrens, antvireos, fire-eyes, bare-eyes and bushbirds...
s. The anis are ground feeders that follow cattle and other large mammals when foraging; in a similar fashion to Cattle Egret
Cattle Egret
The Cattle Egret is a cosmopolitan species of heron found in the tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Bubulcus, although some authorities regard its two subspecies as full species, the Western Cattle Egret and the Eastern Cattle Egret...
s they snatch prey flushed by the cattle and enjoy higher foraging success rates in this way.
Several koel
Koel
The true koels, Eudynamys, are a genus of cuckoos from Asia, Australia and the Pacific. They are large sexually dimorphic cuckoos which eat fruits and insects and have loud distinctive calls. They are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species.In New Zealand the Long-tailed...
s, coua
Coua
Couas are large, mostly terrestrial birds of the cuckoo family, endemic to the island of Madagascar. Coua derives from koa, the Malagasy name for a cuckoo or coua, which is in turn an onomatopoeic of some species' call notes....
s, and the Channel-billed Cuckoo
Channel-billed Cuckoo
The Channel-billed Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Scythrops. The species is the largest brood parasite in the world, and the largest cuckoo....
feed mainly on fruit, but they are not exclusively frugivore
Frugivore
A frugivore is a fruit eater. It can be any type of herbivore or omnivore where fruit is a preferred food type. Because approximately 20% of all mammalian herbivores also eat fruit, frugivory is considered to be common among mammals. Since frugivores eat a lot of fruit they are highly dependent...
s. The parasitic koels and Channel-billed Cuckoo in particular consume mainly fruit when raised by frugivore hosts such as the Australasian Figbird
Australasian Figbird
The Australasian Figbird is a conspicuous medium-sized passerine bird native to a wide range of wooded habitats in northern and eastern Australia, southern Papua New Guinea, and the Kai Islands in Indonesia. It was formerly considered a subspecies of S...
and Pied Currawong
Pied Currawong
The Pied Currawong is a medium-sized black passerine bird native to eastern Australia and Lord Howe Island. One of three currawong species in the genus Strepera, it is closely related to the butcherbirds and Australian Magpie of the family Artamidae. Six subspecies are recognised...
. Other species will occasionally take fruit as well. Couas consume fruit in the dry season when prey is harder to find.
Breeding
The cuckoos are an extremely diverse group of birds with regards to breeding systems. The majority of species are monogamousMonogamy
Monogamy /Gr. μονός+γάμος - one+marriage/ a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse at any one time. In current usage monogamy often refers to having one sexual partner irrespective of marriage or reproduction...
, but there are exceptions. The anis and the Guira Cuckoo lay their eggs in communal nests, although this behaviour is not completely cooperative; a female may remove others' eggs when laying hers. Polyandry
Polyandry
Polyandry refers to a form of marriage in which a woman has two or more husbands at the same time. The form of polyandry in which a woman is married to two or more brothers is known as "fraternal polyandry", and it is believed by many anthropologists to be the most frequently encountered...
has been confirmed in the African Black Coucal
Black Coucal
The Black Coucal is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,...
and is suspected to occur in the other coucals, perhaps explaining the reversed sexual dimorphism in the group. The majority of cuckoo species, including malkohas, couas, coucals, and roadrunners and most other American cuckoos, build their own nests, although a large minority engage in brood parasitism (see below). Most of these species nest in trees or bushes, but the coucals lay their eggs in nests on the ground or in low shrubs. Though on some occasions non-parasitic cuckoos parasitize other species, the parent still helps feed the chick.
Non-parasitic cuckoos, like most other non-passerines, lay white eggs, but many of the parasitic species lay coloured eggs to match those of their passerine
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
hosts.
The young of all species are altricial
Altricial
Altricial, meaning "requiring nourishment", refers to a pattern of growth and development in organisms which are incapable of moving around on their own soon after hatching or being born...
. Non-parasitic cuckoos leave the nest before they can fly, and some New World species have the shortest incubation periods among birds.
Brood parasitism
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
species and 3 of the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
species are brood parasite
Brood parasite
Brood parasites are organisms that use the strategy of brood parasitism, a kind of kleptoparasitism found among birds, fish or insects, involving the manipulation and use of host individuals either of the same or different species to raise the young of the brood-parasite...
s, laying their egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s in the nests of other birds. These species are obligate brood parasites, meaning that they only reproduce in this fashion. In addition to the above noted species, yet others sometimes engage in non-obligate brood parasitism, laying their eggs in the nests of members of their own species in addition to raising their own young. The best-known example is the European Common Cuckoo
Common Cuckoo
The Common Cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals....
. The shells of the eggs of brood-parasites is usually thick. They have two distinct layers with an outer chalky layer that is believed to provide resistance to cracking when the eggs are dropped in the host nest. The cuckoo egg hatches earlier than the host's, and the cuckoo chick grows faster; in most cases the chick evicts the eggs or young of the host species. The chick has no time to learn this behavior, so it must be an instinct
Instinct
Instinct or innate behavior is the inherent inclination of a living organism toward a particular behavior.The simplest example of an instinctive behavior is a fixed action pattern, in which a very short to medium length sequence of actions, without variation, are carried out in response to a...
passed on genetically. The chick encourages the host to keep pace with its high growth rate with its rapid begging call and the chick's open mouth which serves as a sign stimulus.
Cuckoos have evolved various strategies for getting their egg into a host nest. Different species use different strategies based on host defensive strategies. Female cuckoos have evolved secretive and fast laying behaviors, but in some cases, males have been shown to lure host adults away from their nests so that the female can lay her egg in the nest . Some species of cuckoo Host species may try directly preventing cuckoos laying eggs in their nest in the first place – birds whose nests are at high risk of cuckoo-contamination are known to mob cuckoos to drive them out of the area. Parasitic cuckoos are grouped into gentes
Gens (behaviour)
In animal behaviour, a gens or host race is a host-specific lineage of a brood parasite species. Brood parasites such as cuckoos, which use multiple host species to raise their chicks, evolve different gentes, each one specific to its host species...
, with each gens specializing in a particular host. There is some evidence that the gentes are genetically different from one another.
Female parasitic cuckoos sometimes specialize and lay eggs that closely resemble the eggs of their chosen host. This has been produced by natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
, as some birds are able to distinguish cuckoo eggs from their own, leading to those eggs least like the host's being thrown out of the nest. Parasitic cuckoos that show the highest levels of egg mimicry are those whose hosts exhibit high levels of egg rejection behavior. Some hosts do not exhibit egg rejection behavior and the cuckoo eggs look very dissimilar from the host eggs. It has also been shown in a study of the European cuckoos that females will lay their egg in the nest of a host that has eggs that look similar to its own . Other species of cuckoo lay "cryptic" eggs, which are dark in color when their hosts' eggs are light . This is a trick to hide the egg from the host, and has evolved in cuckoos that parasitize hosts with dark, domed nests. Some parasitic cuckoos have been shown to exhibit "Mafia-like" enforcement, in which adult cuckoos will completely destroy the host's clutch if they reject the cuckoo egg. In this case, raising the cuckoo chick is less of a cost than the alternative--total clutch destruction.
Calls
Bird song
Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology and birding, songs are distinguished by function from calls.-Definition:The distinction between songs and calls is based upon...
. Calls are usually relatively simple, resembling whistles, flutes, or hiccups. The calls are used in order to demonstrate ownership of a territory
Territory (animal)
In ethology the term territory refers to any sociographical area that an animal of a particular species consistently defends against conspecifics...
and to attract a mate. Within a species the calls are remarkably consistent across the range, even in species with very large ranges. This suggests, along with the fact that many species are not raised by their true parents, that the calls of cuckoos are innate and not learnt. Although cuckoos are diurnal, many species call at night. The cuckoo family gets its English and scientific names from the call of the Common Cuckoo
Common Cuckoo
The Common Cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals....
, which is also familiar from cuckoo clock
Cuckoo clock
A cuckoo clock is a clock, typically pendulum-regulated, that strikes the hours with a sound like a common cuckoo's call and typically has a mechanical cuckoo that emerges with each note...
s. Some of the names of other species and genera are also derived from their calls, for example the koel
Koel
The true koels, Eudynamys, are a genus of cuckoos from Asia, Australia and the Pacific. They are large sexually dimorphic cuckoos which eat fruits and insects and have loud distinctive calls. They are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species.In New Zealand the Long-tailed...
s of Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
. In most cuckoos the calls are distinctive to particular species, and are useful for identification. Several cryptic species are best identified on the basis of their calls.
Systematics
FAMILY CUCULIDAE- Unassigned
- Genus Dynamopterus (fossilFossilFossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
: Late EoceneEoceneThe Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
/Early OligoceneRupelianThe Rupelian is, in the geologic timescale, the older of two ages or the lower of two stages of the Oligocene epoch/series. It spans the time between and . It is preceded by the Priabonian stage and is followed by the Chattian stage....
of Caylus, Tarn-et-GaronneCaylus, Tarn-et-GaronneCaylus is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France.-References:*...
, France) - Genus Cursoricoccyx (fossilFossilFossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
: Early MioceneEarly MioceneThe Early Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages....
of Logan County, USA) – Neomorphinae? - Cuculidae gen. et sp. indet. (fossilFossilFossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
: Early PlioceneZancleanThe Zanclean is the lowest stage or earliest age on the geologic time scale of the Pliocene. It spans the time between 5.332 and 3.6 Ma ± 0.005 Ma . It is preceded by the Messinian age of the Miocene epoch, and followed by the Piacenzian age....
of Lee Creek Mine, USA - Genus Nannococcyx – Saint Helena Cuckoo (extinct)
- Genus Dynamopterus (fossil
- Subfamily Cuculinae – Brood-parasitic cuckoos
- Genus Eocuculus (fossilFossilFossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
: Late Eocene of Teller County, USA) - Genus ClamatorClamatorClamator is a genus of large cuckoos. There are four species:* Great Spotted Cuckoo, Clamator glandarius* Jacobin Cuckoo or Pied Cuckoo, Clamator jacobinus* Levaillant's Cuckoo, Clamator levaillantii...
(4 species) - Genus PachycoccyxThick-billed CuckooThe Thick-billed Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Pachycoccyx....
– Thick-billed CuckooThick-billed CuckooThe Thick-billed Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Pachycoccyx.... - Genus CuculusCuculusCuculus is a genus of cuckoos which has representatives in most of the Old World, although the greatest diversity is in tropical southern and southeastern Asia...
– typical cuckoos (some 15 species) - Genus CercococcyxCercococcyxCercococcyx is a genus of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family.It contains the following species:* Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo * Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo * Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo...
– long-tailed cuckoos (3 species) - Genus CacomantisCacomantisCacomantis is a genus of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. The genus name is derived from the Greek kakos meaning evil or ill-boding and mantis for prophet and is derived from their association with "rains" being supposed to be predict ill fortune and bad weather. Most of them have a round nostril...
(8 species) - Genus ChrysococcyxChrysococcyxChrysococcyx is a genus of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family.It contains the following species:* Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo * Pied Bronze Cuckoo * African Emerald Cuckoo...
– bronze cuckoos (12 species) - Genus RhamphomantisLong-billed CuckooThe Long-billed Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Rhamphomantis.It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea....
– Long-billed CuckooLong-billed CuckooThe Long-billed Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Rhamphomantis.It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.... - Genus SurniculusSurniculusSurniculus is a small genus of birds in the cuckoo family. Its two members are found in tropical Asia and the Philippines. They are:* Asian Drongo-Cuckoo, Surniculus lugubris* Philippine Drongo-Cuckoo, Surniculus velutinus...
– drongo-cuckoos (2 species) - Genus CaliechthrusWhite-crowned KoelThe White-crowned Cuckoo or White-crowned Koel is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. It is often placed in the monotypic genus Caliechthrus but it has a similar song to cuckoos of the genus Cacomantis and is genetically similar to the Pallid Cuckoo...
– White-crowned KoelWhite-crowned KoelThe White-crowned Cuckoo or White-crowned Koel is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. It is often placed in the monotypic genus Caliechthrus but it has a similar song to cuckoos of the genus Cacomantis and is genetically similar to the Pallid Cuckoo... - Genus MicrodynamisDwarf KoelThe Dwarf Koel is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Microdynamis.It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests....
– Dwarf KoelDwarf KoelThe Dwarf Koel is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Microdynamis.It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.... - Genus Eudynamys – typical koels (2–5 species, one prehistoric)
- Genus ScythropsChannel-billed CuckooThe Channel-billed Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Scythrops. The species is the largest brood parasite in the world, and the largest cuckoo....
– Channel-billed CuckooChannel-billed CuckooThe Channel-billed Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Scythrops. The species is the largest brood parasite in the world, and the largest cuckoo....
- Genus Eocuculus (fossil
- Subfamily Phaenicophaeinae – Malkohas and couas
- Genus CeuthmocharesYellowbillThe Yellowbill is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. The species is sometimes known as the Green Malkoha. It is monotypic within the genus Ceuthmochares. There are three subspecies that display some differences in plumage colouration; all subspecies have a greyish belly, head and throat...
– YellowbillYellowbillThe Yellowbill is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. The species is sometimes known as the Green Malkoha. It is monotypic within the genus Ceuthmochares. There are three subspecies that display some differences in plumage colouration; all subspecies have a greyish belly, head and throat... - Genus Phaenicophaeus – malkohas (12 species)
- Genus CarpococcyxCarpococcyxCarpococcyx is a genus of large terrestrial cuckoos in the Cuculidae family. They are restriced to humid forested regions in Southeast Asia...
– Asian ground-cuckoos (3 species) - Genus CouaCouaCouas are large, mostly terrestrial birds of the cuckoo family, endemic to the island of Madagascar. Coua derives from koa, the Malagasy name for a cuckoo or coua, which is in turn an onomatopoeic of some species' call notes....
– couas (9 living species, 1 recently extinct)
- Genus Ceuthmochares
- Subfamily Coccyzinae – American cuckoos
- Genus CoccyzusCoccyzusCoccyzus is a genus of cuckoos which occur in the Americas.-Species and taxonomy:The species in taxonomic order are:* Black-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus erythropthalmus* Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus...
– includes Saurothera and Hyetornis (13 species) - Genus CoccycuaCoccycuaCoccycua is a small genus of birds in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae. Its three species are found in the tropical Americas.Formerly, they were divided among in Coccyza and Piaya , or the former were assigned to Micrococcyx and only the latter to Coccycua...
– formerly in Coccyzus and Piaya, includes Micrococcyx (3 species) - Genus PiayaPiayaPiaya is a small genus of relatively large and long-tailed cuckoos, which occur in Mexico, Central America and South America. The two species in taxonomic order are:* Squirrel Cuckoo, Piaya cayana* Black-bellied Cuckoo, Piaya melanogaster...
(2 species)
- Genus Coccyzus
- Subfamily NeomorphinaeNeomorphinaeNeomorphinae is a subfamily of the cuckoo family, Cuculidae. Members of this subfamily are known as New World ground cuckoos, since most are largely terrestrial and native to the Americas...
– New World ground cuckoos- Genus Neococcyx (fossilFossilFossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
: Early Oligocene of Central North America) - Genus TaperaStriped CuckooThe Striped Cuckoo is a near-passerine bird, the only member of the genus Tapera. This resident cuckoo is found from Mexico and Trinidad south to Bolivia and Argentina....
– Striped CuckooStriped CuckooThe Striped Cuckoo is a near-passerine bird, the only member of the genus Tapera. This resident cuckoo is found from Mexico and Trinidad south to Bolivia and Argentina.... - Genus DromococcyxDromococcyxDromococcyx is a genus of uncommon to rare cuckoos found in forests and woodlands of the Neotropics. They have strikingly graduated tails, and are among the few cuckoos of the Americas that are brood parasites ....
(2 species) - Genus Morococcyx – Lesser Ground Cuckoo
- Genus GeococcyxGeococcyxThe roadrunners are two species of bird in the genus Geococcyx of the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, native to North and Central America...
– roadrunners (2 species) - Genus NeomorphusNeomorphusNeomorphus is a genus of terrestrial cuckoos in the Cuculidae family. Despite their relatively large size, they are highly inconspicuous and rarely seen...
– Neotropical ground-cuckoos (5 species)
- Genus Neococcyx (fossil
- Subfamily CentropodinaeCoucalA coucal is one of about 30 species of birds in the cuckoo family. All of them belong in the subfamily Centropodinae and the genus Centropus. Unlike many Old World cuckoos, coucals are not brood parasites...
– Coucals- Genus CentropusCoucalA coucal is one of about 30 species of birds in the cuckoo family. All of them belong in the subfamily Centropodinae and the genus Centropus. Unlike many Old World cuckoos, coucals are not brood parasites...
(some 30 species)
- Genus Centropus
- Subfamily CrotophaginaeCrotophagidaeThe anis are a small family of gregarious birds occurring in the Americas. They are part of the cuckoo order Cuculiformes and are sometimes placed as a subfamily Crotophaginae within the cuckoo family Cuculidae....
– Anis- Genus CrotophagaAni (bird)The anis are the three species of near-passerine birds in the genus Crotophaga of the cuckoo family. They are essentially tropical New world birds, although the range of two species just reaches the United States...
– true anis (3 species) - Genus Guira – Guira Cuckoo
- Genus Crotophaga
Other sources
- Feduccia, Alan (1996): The Origin and Evolution of Birds. Yale University Press, New Haven. ISBN 0-300-06460-8
- Olson, Storrs L. (1985): Section VII.C. Cuculidae. In: Farner, D.S.; King, J.R. & Parkes, Kenneth C. (eds.): Avian Biology 8: 110-111. Academic Press, New York.
External links
- http://www.xeno-canto.org/browse.php?query=cuculidae Cuckoo sounds on xeno-canto.org
- http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/cuckoos-cuculidae Cuckoo videos] on the Internet Bird Collection