African Cuckoo-Hawk
Aviceda cuculoides
Slim, long-winged, mid-sized raptor with oddly cuckoo-like markings. Has fairly weak, floppy flight and rarely soars. Generally uncommon species of thick savannah, woodland, and forest edge. Call is a long, mournful whistle. Although its shape is distinctive with practice, cuckoo-hawks can be confused with many other raptor species. Note the widely spaced rufous barring on the belly, and the small crest. Cuckoo-hawks are much slower and weaker fliers than any of the goshawks or sparrowhawks.
Identification
The male is blackish-brown above with a grey mantle and chest with a blackish crest, the underparts are white marked with broad chestnut bars. The tail is black with three grey bars and grey and white tip. The females are browner with paler chestnut bars on the underparts. Distinctive in flight as a small raptor with a small head with broad, narrowly rounded wings and a medium length tail. Wingspan is just over double the body length, females are slightly larger than males.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Aviceda cuculoides
- Authority
- Swainson, 1837
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Aviceda
Range and habitat
The African cuckoo-hawk is a shy species which occurs in the interior and edges of evergreen forest and deciduous woodlands, including suburban gardens and more open savannas, up to 3,000 m (9,800 ft). When migrating through east Africa it also occurs in drier woodland and bush. The African cuckoo-hawk is found across much of sub-Saharan Africa, and the following subspecies are recognised:
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Cuban Trogon
Priotelus temnurus
A splendid medium-sized inhabitant of woodlands; often found in pairs. Its iridescent blue-green back, smooth gray chest, and brilliant red belly easily distinguish it from all other species in range. Usually sits motionless near the middle level of the forest, but when feeding (typically on flowers and fruit) hovers conspicuously. Often found by its loud calls, which are somewhat varied. One common call is a “cu-cu-cu-cu-cu-cu,” often accelerating; another is a resonant quavering “cu-u-low,” given several times in succession.
Paint-billed Crake
Mustelirallus erythrops
A fairly small rail, mostly gray below and olive-brown above with bicolored bill (red base, yellow tip) and pinkish legs. Black and white barring on vent can be difficult to see. Shy and typically uncommon to rare. Most often found in dense marshy habitats, including flooded rice fields and pastures. However, not necessarily tied to water, and can also be found in moist forest with dense understory. Even its vocalizations aren’t well-known, but makes a low, fast, cooing trill.
Great Barbet
Psilopogon virens
This largest of the barbets is colorful, but often appears all-dark from a distance. No other barbet in its range combines the features of a massive pale bill, black head, and dark olive back. Sluggish and shy; tends to stick to dense forest canopy, where it is difficult to see. Its loud hooting song (typically a series of two repetitive notes) is often the only indication of this species’s presence. Also gives a harsh, screaming “karrrrr” that has a gull-like quality.
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