Thick-billed Cuckoo
Pachycoccyx audeberti
Huge cuckoo that is black above and white below. Immature has white barring across its upperparts. Looks raptor-like in powerful, swooping flight. Uncommon bird of rainforest, gallery forest, and moist woodland, especially miombo. Call is a loud, repeated “wheet-it”, often given in a high display flight. Adult is separated from Great Spotted, Levaillant’s, and Pied cuckoos by its lack of a crest or white in the wing. Immature is similar to Great Spotted Cuckoo, but has black-and-white speckles on the head, and lacks a crest.
Taxonomy
In a molecular genetic study by Sorenson and Payne (2005), the thick-billed cuckoo appeared to be most closely related to the koels, consisting of the dwarf koel (Microdynamis parva) and the true koels (Eudynamys), although the evidence was not very strong and further research was required.
- Scientific name
- Pachycoccyx audeberti
- Authority
- (Schlegel, 1879)
- Order
- Cuculiformes
- Family
- Cuculidae
- Genus
- Pachycoccyx
Range and habitat
The thick-billed cuckoo is found in humid to subhumid woodlands and gallery forests from Guinea in the northwest to Mozambique in the southeast, though it is absent from large areas of the Congo Basin. It formerly occurred in the rainforests of northeastern Madagascar, but has not been reported from that island since 1922. In its southernmost regions the thick-billed cuckoo is partially migratory, spending the southern dry season in East Africa.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Nankeen Night Heron
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Little Eagle
Hieraaetus morphnoides
Small, stocky eagle often mistaken for a kite. Both light and dark morphs occur in varying frequencies throughout its extensive range. In flight note diagnostic black wingtips and tail barring. Easily confused with Whistling Kite, but Little Eagle has shorter tail and dark leading edge to the wings. Can raise feathers on the back of the head to form a small black crest. Usually solitary.
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