African Cuckoo
Cuculus gularis
A typical Old World cuckoo, with gray-and-white plumage and long wings and tail. Powerful, falcon-like flight. A brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of many other bird species. Found in all types of savannah and woodland. Extremely vocal when breeding, giving a distinctive “hoo-hao”. Extremely similar to Common Cuckoo, but has more yellow at the base of the bill; nearly half of the bill is normally yellow. Also similar to Lesser and Madagascar cuckoos, but larger, and without a contrastingly black tail and rump.
识别特征
This is a medium-sized species with a long tail, with a total length of 32 cm (13 in). Its dashing flight makes it resemble a bird of prey. The sexes are similar, the head, upper parts and wings being dark grey, the throat and breast pale grey and the belly white barred with dark grey. The tail is dark grey with dark barring and a white tip. The eye is yellow in the male and light brown in the female. The beak is yellow, tipped with black or horn. The legs and feet are yellowish. The juvenile has two colour forms; the grey morph is greyer than the adult with white barring, the underparts being creamy-white with dense dark barring; the hepatic morph is brown rather than grey, the white being replaced by buff or a tawny hue. The call of the male is a "coo-coo" with the second note higher and louder than the first. The female utters a bubbling "Kwik-kwik-kwik".
分类信息
Genus: Cuculus; Family: Cuculidae; Order: Cuculiformes.
- 学名
- Cuculus gularis
- 命名信息
- Stephens, 1815
- 目
- Cuculiformes
- 科
- Cuculidae
- 属
- Cuculus
分布与栖息地
The African cuckoo occurs in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, DRC, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The birds migrate to West Africa with the arrival of the rainy season, breed there and then depart, although in some localities such as Nigeria, they seem to be present all year round. In East Africa their arrival also coincides with the rainy season, and they may be present from October to May, and in southern Africa they are present from September to April. Their typical habitat is savannah with scattered acacia trees and open woodland. They are not present in dense forest or in arid regions. They are fairly common birds but inconspicuous except when calling.
- 迁徙
- Complete migrants
行为
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
保护状况
Population trend: stable.
- 种群趋势
- stable
照片
分布
其他鸟类
Philadelphia Vireo
Vireo philadelphicus
Small, short-tailed, most similar to Warbling Vireo, but brighter: look for yellow wash on underparts, brightest on throat and undertail, and dark line through the eye that connects to base of bill. Dull individuals can be very difficult to distinguish from Warbling Vireo, but Warbling usually brightest yellow on flanks, not throat. Similar to Red-eyed Vireo but with shorter bill and yellower below. Breeds in deciduous forests, especially areas with younger trees including birches or aspens. Migrates through a variety of wooded and brushy habitats; winters in Central America. Song nearly identical to Red-eyed Vireo. Feeds on insects; especially caterpillars.
Streak-headed Woodcreeper
Lepidocolaptes souleyetii
Medium-size, fairly common woodcreeper of tropical lowlands. Favors forest edge, open woodland, hedges with tall trees. Feeds on trunks and larger branches, often spiraling up one trunk and flying low to the next tree. Note the relatively slender and slightly decurved bill, distinct but fine pale streaking on the head and back. Easily confused with larger Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, which is more of a forest bird and has a bigger and straighter bill.
Chuuk Monarch
Metabolus rugensis
Medium-sized flycatcher-like bird with a long pointed bill. Male is bright white with a black face and throat. Female is entirely dark overall. Juvenile is rufous above and paler buff below. Endemic to the Chuuk Islands of Micronesia, where it primarily inhabits remnant upland native forest, extensive mangroves, and small forested atolls. Less frequently in degraded lowland forest. Favors areas with a dense understory, where it forages singly or in small groups, moving slowly through the foliage. Sparse and declining as a result of habitat loss. Gives low whistles and a nasal “jeer!”
开始您的观鸟之旅
在户外识别鸟类，并在下一次观察时随手查阅鸟类图鉴。