Cuckoos are
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
s in the Cuculidae family, the sole
taxon
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...
in the order Cuculiformes .
The cuckoo family includes the
common or European cuckoo,
roadrunners
The roadrunners (genus ''Geococcyx''), also known as chaparral birds or chaparral cocks, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos with long tails and crests. They are found in the southwestern and south-central United States and Mexico, us ...
,
koel
The true koels, ''Eudynamys'', are a genus of cuckoos from Asia, Australia and the Pacific. They are large sexually dimorphic cuckoos that eat fruits and insects and have loud distinctive calls. They are brood parasites, laying their eggs in ...
s,
malkoha
Malkohas are large birds in the cuckoo family Cuculidae
Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, co ...
s,
coua
Couas are large, mostly terrestrial birds of the cuckoo family, endemic to the island of Madagascar.
Couas are reminiscent of African turacos when walking along tree branches, and they likewise feature brightly coloured bare skin around the eyes ...
s,
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, though they do have their own repr ...
s, and
anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separated as distinct families, the
Centropodidae and
Crotophagidae
The Crotophaginae are a small subfamily, within the cuckoo family Cuculidae, of four gregarious bird species occurring in the Americas. They were previously classified as a family Crotophagidae.
The subfamily is notable for the development of co ...
, respectively. The cuckoo order Cuculiformes is one of three that make up the
Otidimorphae
The Otidimorphae is a clade of birds that contains the orders Cuculiformes (cuckoos), Musophagiformes (turacos), and Otidiformes (bustards) identified in 2014 by genome analysis. While the bustards seem to be related to the turaco
The tura ...
, the other two being the
turaco
The turacos make up the bird family Musophagidae ( "banana-eaters"), which includes plantain-eaters and go-away-birds. In southern Africa both turacos and go-away-birds are commonly known as loeries. They are semi-zygodactylous: the fourth ( ...
s and the
bustard
Bustards, including floricans and korhaans, are large, terrestrial birds living mainly in dry grassland areas and on the steppes of the Old World. They range in length from . They make up the family Otididae (, formerly known as Otidae). Bustards ...
s. The family Cuculidae contains 150 species, which are divided into 33 genera.
The cuckoos are generally medium-sized, slender birds. Most species live in trees, though a sizeable minority are ground-dwelling. The family has a
cosmopolitan distribution
In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Such a taxon, usually a species, is said to exhibit cosmopolitanism or cosmopolitism. The ext ...
; the majority of species are tropical. Some species are
migratory. The cuckoos feed on insects, insect larvae, and a variety of other animals, as well as fruit. Some species are
brood parasite
Brood parasites are animals that rely on others to raise their young. The strategy appears among birds, insects and fish. The brood parasite manipulates a host, either of the same or of another species, to raise its young as if it were its own ...
s, laying their eggs in the nests of other species and giving rise to the metaphor
"cuckoo's egg", but most species raise their own young.
Cuckoos have played a role in human culture for thousands of years, appearing in
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
as sacred to the goddess
Hera
In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...
. In Europe, the cuckoo is associated with spring, and with
cuckoldry
A cuckold is the husband of an adulterous wife; the wife of an adulterous husband is a cuckquean. In biology, a cuckold is a male who unwittingly invests parental effort in juveniles who are not genetically his offspring. A husband who is aw ...
, for example in
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Love's Labour's Lost
''Love's Labour's Lost'' is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before Elizabeth I of England, Queen Elizabeth I. It follows the King of Navarre and ...
''. In India, cuckoos are sacred to
Kamadeva
Kama ( sa, काम, ), also known as Kamadeva and Manmatha, is the Hindu god of love and desire, often portrayed alongside his consort, Rati.
The Atharvaveda, Atharva Veda regards Kamadeva as the wielder of the creative power of the universe ...
, the god of desire and longing, whereas in Japan, the cuckoo symbolises unrequited love.
Description
![Chestnut-breasted Malkoha2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Chestnut-breasted_Malkoha2.jpg)
Cuckoos are medium-sized birds that range in size from the
little bronze cuckoo
The little bronze cuckoo (''Chrysococcyx minutillus'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Southeast Asia, New Guinea and northern and eastern Australia, where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowla ...
, at 17 g and , to moderately large birds, ranging from in length, such as the
giant coua
The giant coua (''Coua gigas'') is a bird species from the coua genus in the cuckoo family that is endemic to the dry forests of western and southern Madagascar. It is suggested that couas probably originated from a particular Asian ground-cucko ...
of
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
, the
coral-billed ground-cuckoo
The coral-billed ground cuckoo (''Carpococcyx renauldi''), also known as Renauld's ground cuckoo, is a large terrestrial species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is tro ...
of
Indochina
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
, the
channel-billed cuckoo
The channel-billed cuckoo (''Scythrops novaehollandiae'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Scythrops''.Payne (2005), p. 380. The species is the largest brood parasite in the world, and the largest ...
, and various large Indo-Pacific coucals such as the
goliath coucal of
Halmahera
Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coast of the island.
Hal ...
,
Timor coucal,
buff-headed coucal
The buff-headed coucal (''Centropus milo'') is a species of coucal. These are often placed in the cuckoo family (Cuculidae) but seem to warrant recognition as a distinct family. ''C. milo'' is a common endemic of the central islands of the Solo ...
,
ivory-billed coucal
The ivory-billed coucal or greater black coucal (''Centropus menbeki'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in the Aru Islands and New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest
Tropica ...
,
violaceous coucal
The violaceous coucal or violet coucal (''Centropus violaceus'') is a cuckoo species in the family Cuculidae. It is endemic to the Bismarck Archipelago (Papua New Guinea). Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
Du ...
, and larger forms of the
pheasant coucal
The pheasant coucal (''Centropus phasianinus'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Australia, Timor and New Guinea.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical man ...
.
[Del Hoyo J. (ed.) (2021) ''All the Birds of the World'' Lynx Edicions:Barcelona. ] [Eaton J.A., van Balen B., Brickle N.W. & Rheindt F.E. (2021) ''Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago. Greater Sundas and Wallacea. Second Edition.'' Lynx Edicions:Barcelona.
] The
channel-billed cuckoo
The channel-billed cuckoo (''Scythrops novaehollandiae'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Scythrops''.Payne (2005), p. 380. The species is the largest brood parasite in the world, and the largest ...
, at and is the largest parasitic cuckoo. Generally, little
sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...
in size occurs, 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 is the feet, which are
zygodactyl
In biology, dactyly is the arrangement of digits (fingers and toes) on the hands, feet, or sometimes wings of a tetrapod animal. It comes from the Greek word δακτυλος (''dáktylos'') = "finger".
Sometimes the ending "-dactylia" is used ...
, meaning that the two inner toes point forward and the two outer backward. The two basic body forms are arboreal species (such as the
common cuckoo
The common cuckoo (''Cuculus canorus'') is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals.
This species is a widespread summer migrant to Europe and Asia, and winters in Africa. I ...
), which are slender and have short
tarsi, and terrestrial species (such as the
roadrunners
The roadrunners (genus ''Geococcyx''), also known as chaparral birds or chaparral cocks, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos with long tails and crests. They are found in the southwestern and south-central United States and Mexico, us ...
), which are more heavy set and have long tarsi. Almost all species have long tails that are used for steering in terrestrial species and as a rudder during
flight
Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...
in the arboreal species. The wing shape also varies with lifestyle, with the more
migratory species such as the
black-billed cuckoo
The black-billed cuckoo (''Coccyzus erythropthalmus'') is a New World species in the Cuculidae (cuckoo) family. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name, ''kokkuzo'', means to call like a common cuckoo, and ''erythropthalmus'' i ...
possessing long, narrow wings capable of strong, direct flight, and the more terrestrial and sedentary cuckoos such as the coucals and malkohas having shorter rounded wings and a more laboured, gliding flight.
The subfamily Cuculinae comprises 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
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
in the family, resembling that of a
hornbill
Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family (biology), 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 coloured and sometimes has a Casque (an ...
. The subfamily Phaenicophaeinae comprises the nonparasitic 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 coucals are another terrestrial Old World subfamily of long-tailed, long-legged, and short-winged cuckoos. They are large, heavyset birds with the largest, the
greater black coucal
The ivory-billed coucal or greater black coucal (''Centropus menbeki'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in the Aru Islands and New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.
Reference ...
, being around the same size as the channel-billed cuckoo. Genera of 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
The roadrunners (genus ''Geococcyx''), also known as chaparral birds or chaparral cocks, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos with long tails and crests. They are found in the southwestern and south-central United States and Mexico, us ...
, which can reach speeds of 30 km/h when chasing prey. The final subfamily includes the atypical
anis, which are the small, clumsy
anis and the larger
guira cuckoo
The guira cuckoo (''Guira guira'') is a gregarious bird found widely in open and semi-open habitats of northeastern, eastern and southern Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and northeastern Argentina. It is the only species placed in the genus ' ...
. The anis have massive bills and smooth, glossy feathers.
![Chrysococcyx maculatus - Khao Yai](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Chrysococcyx_maculatus_-_Khao_Yai.jpg)
The
feather
Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premier ...
s of the cuckoos are generally soft, and often become waterlogged in heavy rain. Cuckoos often sun themselves after rain, and the anis hold their wings open in the manner of a
vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
or
cormorant
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...
while drying. Considerable variation in the
plumage
Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...
is exhibited by the family. Some species, particularly the brood parasites, have
cryptic
Cryptic may refer to:
In science:
* Cryptic species complex, a group of species that are very difficult to distinguish from one another
* Crypsis, the ability of animals to blend in to avoid observation
* Cryptic era, earliest period of the Earth
...
plumage, whereas others have bright and elaborate plumage. This is particularly true of the ''
Chrysococcyx
''Chrysococcyx'' is a genus of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae.
The genus ''Chrysococcyx'' was erected by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1826 with the African emerald cuckoo (''Chrysococcyx cupreus'') as the type species. The name ''Chr ...
'' or glossy cuckoos, which have
iridescent
Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear to gradually change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Examples of iridescence include soap bubbles, feathers, butterfl ...
plumage. Some cuckoos have a resemblance to hawks in the genus ''
Accipiter
''Accipiter'' is a genus of Bird of prey, birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. With 51 recognized species it is the most diverse genus in its family. Most species are called goshawks or sparrowhawks, although almost all New World species (ex ...
'' 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
The Asian koel (''Eudynamys scolopaceus'') is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. It is found in the Indian Subcontinent, China, and Southeast Asia. It forms a superspecies with the closely related black-billed koels, and P ...
s breeding in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
have black offspring to resemble their
crow
A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifical ...
hosts, whereas in the
Australian koel
The Pacific koel (''Eudynamys orientalis''), also known as the eastern koel or formerly Common Koel, is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. In Australia, it is colloquially known as the ''rainbird'' or ''stormbird'', as its call is usual ...
s the chicks are brown like their
honeyeater
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are ...
hosts. Sexual dimorphism in plumage is uncommon in the cuckoos, being most common in the parasitic Old World species. Cuckoos have 10 and 9–13 . All species have 10 , apart from the anis, which have eight.
Distribution and habitat
![Great Lizard-cuckoo (Coccyzus merlini), cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Great_Lizard-cuckoo_%28Coccyzus_merlini%29%2C_cropped.jpg)
The cuckoos have a
cosmopolitan distribution
In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Such a taxon, usually a species, is said to exhibit cosmopolitanism or cosmopolitism. The ext ...
, ranging across all the world's continents except Antarctica. They are absent from the southwest of South America, the far north and northwest of North America, and the driest areas of the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
and
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
(although they occur there as passage
migrants). They generally only occur as
vagrants
Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...
in the oceanic islands of the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
and
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
s, but one species breeds on a number of
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
islands and another is a winter migrant across much of the Pacific.
[Bogert, C (1937]
Birds collected during the Whitney South Sea Expedition. 34, The distribution and the migration of the long-tailed cuckoo (''Urodynamis taitensis'' Sparrman).
''American Museum Novitates'' 933 12 p.
The Cuculinae are the most widespread subfamily of cuckoos, and are distributed across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Oceania. Amongst the Phaenicophaeinae, the malkohas and Asian ground cuckoos are restricted to southern Asia, the couas are
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
, and the
yellowbill
''Ceuthmochares'' is a genus of 2 species of cuckoos in the family Cuculidae. The two species were once treated as a single species, known as the yellowbill. Both species are found in evergreen forest in Africa. Although they are cuckoos they ar ...
is widespread across Africa. The coucals are distributed from Africa through tropical Asia south into Australia and the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
. The remaining three subfamilies have a New World distribution, all are found in both North and South America. The Coccyzinae reach the furthest north of the three subfamilies, breeding in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, whereas the anis reach as far north as
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
and the typical ground cuckoos are in the
Southwest United States
The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...
.
For the cuckoos, suitable habitat provides a source of food (principally insects and especially caterpillars) and a place to breed; for
brood parasite
Brood parasites are animals that rely on others to raise their young. The strategy appears among birds, insects and fish. The brood parasite manipulates a host, either of the same or of another species, to raise its young as if it were its own ...
s the need is for suitable habitat for the host species. Cuckoos occur in a wide variety of
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
s. Most species occur in forests and woodland, principally in the evergreen rainforests of the tropics. Some species inhabit or are even restricted to
mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...
forests; these include the
little bronze cuckoo
The little bronze cuckoo (''Chrysococcyx minutillus'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Southeast Asia, New Guinea and northern and eastern Australia, where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowla ...
of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, some malkohas, coucals, and the aptly named
mangrove cuckoo
The mangrove cuckoo (''Coccyzus minor'') is a species of cuckoo that is native to the Neotropics.
Taxonomy
The mangrove cuckoo was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition o ...
of the
New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
. In addition to forests, some species of cuckoos occupy more open environments; this can include even arid areas such as deserts in the case of the
greater roadrunner
The greater roadrunner (''Geococcyx californianus'') is a long-legged bird in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, from the Aridoamerica region in the Southwestern United States and Mexico. The scientific name means "Californian earth-cuckoo". Along wit ...
or the
pallid cuckoo
The pallid cuckoo (''Cacomantis pallidus'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Australia, with some migration to the islands of Timor and Papua New Guinea. It is between 28 and 33 cm ...
. Temperate migratory species, such as the common cuckoo, inhabit a wide range of habitats to make maximum use of the potential brood hosts, from reed beds (where they parasitise
reed warbler
The ''Acrocephalus'' warblers are small, insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Acrocephalus''. Formerly in the paraphyletic Old World warbler assemblage, they are now separated as the namesake of the marsh and tree warbler famil ...
s) to treeless moors (where they parasitise
meadow pipit
The meadow pipit (''Anthus pratensis'') is a small passerine bird, which breeds in much of the Palearctic, from southeastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; an isol ...
s).
Migration
![Chestnut-winged Cuckoo in Singapore, Dec 2012, by William Lee](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Chestnut-winged_Cuckoo_in_Singapore%2C_Dec_2012%2C_by_William_Lee.jpg)
Most species of cuckoo are sedentary, but some undertake regular seasonal
migrations, and others undertake partial migrations over part of their range.
Species breeding at higher latitudes migrate to warmer climates during the winter due to food availability. The
long-tailed koel
The Pacific long-tailed cuckoo (''Urodynamis taitensis''), also known as the long-tailed cuckoo, long-tailed koel, sparrow hawk, home owl, screecher, screamer or in Māori, is a species of the Cuculidae bird family (the cuckoos). It is a migrat ...
, 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
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
, a nonstop flight of 4000 km. Other long migration flights include the
lesser cuckoo
The lesser cuckoo (''Cuculus poliocephalus'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae.
It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Kenya, North Korea, South Korea, Laos, Malawi, Mya ...
, which flies from Africa to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, and the common cuckoo of Europe, which flies nonstop over the Mediterranean Sea and
Sahara Desert
, photo = Sahara real color.jpg
, photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972
, map =
, map_image =
, location =
, country =
, country1 =
, ...
on the voyage between Europe and central Africa.
[BTO Cuckoo migration tracking study](_blank)
/ref>
Within Africa, 10 species make regular intracontinental migrations that are described as polarised; that is, they spend the nonbreeding 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. About 83% of the Australian species are partial migrants within Australia or travel to New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
and Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
after the breeding season.
In some species, the migration is diurnal, as in the channel-billed cuckoo
The channel-billed cuckoo (''Scythrops novaehollandiae'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Scythrops''.Payne (2005), p. 380. The species is the largest brood parasite in the world, and the largest ...
, or nocturnal
Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite.
Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...
, as in the 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. These likely refer to the bird's habit of calling on hot days, often presaging rain or th ...
.
Behaviour and ecology
The cuckoos are, for the most part, solitary birds that seldom occur in pairs or groups. The biggest exception to this are the anis 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 call
Call or Calls may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* Call, a type of betting in poker
* Call, in the game of contract bridge, a bid, pass, double, or redouble in the bidding stage
Music and dance
* Call (band), from Lahore, Paki ...
at night (see below). The cuckoos are also generally a shy and retiring family, more often heard than seen. The exception to this is again the anis, which are often extremely trusting towards humans and other species.
Most cuckoos are insectivorous
A robber fly eating a hoverfly
An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects.
The first vertebrate insectivores were ...
, and in particular are specialised in eating larger insects and caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...
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 also take a wide range of other insects and animal prey. The lizard cuckoos of the Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
have, in the relative absence of birds of prey
Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators ...
, 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 Coquerel's coua
Coquerel's coua (''Coua coquereli'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae.
It is Endemism, endemic to Madagascar. Its habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It was named in 1867 by the French naturalist Alfred Grandidier in hon ...
obtained prey by walking and gleaning on the forest floor
The forest floor, also called detritus, duff and the O horizon, is one of the most distinctive features of a forest ecosystem. It mainly consists of shed vegetative parts, such as leaves, branches, bark, and stems, existing in various stage ...
, whereas the red-capped coua
The red-capped coua (''Coua ruficeps'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae.
It is Endemism, endemic to Madagascar.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest. Subspeci ...
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
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. These ar ...
s, although some studies in eastern Australia found several species participated in the nonbreeding season, but were mobbed and unable to do so in the breeding season. Ground cuckoos of the genus ''Neomorphus
''Neomorphus'' is a genus of terrestrial cuckoos in the family Cuculidae. Despite their relatively large size, they are highly inconspicuous and rarely seen. They are restricted to the humid primary forests in the Neotropics, and despite their si ...
'' are sometimes seen feeding in association with army ant
The name army ant (or legionary ant or ''marabunta'') is applied to over 200 ant species in different lineages. Because of their aggressive predatory foraging groups, known as "raids", a huge number of ants forage simultaneously over a limit ...
swarms, although they are not obligate 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 thru ...
s, as are some antbird
The antbirds are a large passerine bird family (biology), family, Thamnophilidae, found across subtropical and tropical Central and South America, from Mexico to Argentina. There are List of antbirds, more than 230 species, known variously as an ...
s. The anis are ground feeders that follow cattle and other large mammals when foraging; in a similar fashion to cattle egret
The cattle egret (''Bubulcus ibis'') is a cosmopolitan species of heron (family Ardeidae) found in the tropics, subtropics, and warm-temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Bubulcus'', although some authorities regard it ...
s, they snatch prey flushed by the cattle, so enjoy higher foraging success rates in this way.
Several koels, couas, and the channel-billed cuckoo feed mainly on fruit, but they are not exclusively frugivore
A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance an ...
s. The parasitic koels and channel-billed cuckoo in particular consume mainly fruit when raised by frugivore hosts such as the Australasian figbird
The Australasian figbird (''Sphecotheres vieilloti''), also known as the green figbird (not to be confused with the Timor figbird), is a conspicuous, medium-sized passerine bird native to a wide range of wooded habitats in northern and eastern ...
and pied currawong
The pied currawong (''Strepera graculina'') is a 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 ...
. Other species 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. Most are monogamous
Monogamy ( ) is a form of Dyad (sociology), dyadic Intimate relationship, relationship in which an individual has only one Significant other, partner during their lifetime. Alternately, only one partner at any one time (Monogamy#Serial monogamy, ...
, but exceptions exist. The anis and the guira cuckoo lay their eggs in communal nests, which are built by all members of the group. Incubation, brooding, and territorial defence duties are shared by all members of the group. Within these species, the anis breed as groups of monogamous pairs, but the guira cuckoos are not monogamous within the group, exhibiting a polygynandrous breeding system. This group nesting behaviour is not completely cooperative; females compete and may remove others' eggs when laying theirs. Eggs are usually only ejected early in the breeding season in the anis, but can be ejected at any time by guria cuckoos. Polyandry
Polyandry (; ) is a form of polygamy in which a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time. Polyandry is contrasted with polygyny, involving one male and two or more females. If a marriage involves a plural number of "husbands and wives" ...
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.
Most cuckoo species, including malkohas, couas, coucals, and roadrunners, and most other American cuckoos, build their own nests, although a large minority engages in brood parasitism
Brood parasites are animals that rely on others to raise their young. The strategy appears among birds, insects and fish. The brood parasite manipulates a host, either of the same or of another species, to raise its young as if it were its own ...
(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 nonparasitic cuckoos parasitize other species, the parent still helps feed the chick.
The nests of cuckoos vary in the same way as the breeding systems. The nests of malkohas and Asian ground cuckoos are shallow platforms of twigs, but those of coucals are globular or domed nests of grasses. The New World cuckoos build saucers or bowls in the case of the New World ground cuckoos.
Nonparasitic cuckoos, like most other nonpasserines, lay white eggs, but many of the parasitic species lay coloured eggs to match those of their passerine
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...
hosts.
The young of all species are altricial
In biology, altricial species are those in which the young are underdeveloped at the time of birth, but with the aid of their parents mature after birth. Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the mome ...
. Nonparasitic cuckoos leave the nest before they can fly, and some New World species have the shortest incubation periods among birds.
Brood parasitism
About 56 of the Old World species and three of the New World cuckoo species (pheasant
Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family (biology), family Phasianidae in the order (biology), order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera na ...
, pavonine, and striped) are brood parasites, laying their eggs
Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
in the nests of other birds and giving rise to the metaphor "cuckoo's egg". These species are obligate brood parasites, meaning that they only reproduce in this fashion. The best-known example is the European common cuckoo. In addition to the above noted species, others sometimes engage in nonobligate brood parasitism, laying their eggs in the nests of members of their own species, in addition to raising their own young. Brood parasitism has even been seen in greater roadrunners, where their eggs were seen in the nests of common raven
The common raven (''Corvus corax'') is a large all-black passerine bird. It is the most widely distributed of all corvids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. It is a raven known by many names at the subspecies level; there are at least e ...
s and northern mockingbird
The northern mockingbird (''Mimus polyglottos'') is a mockingbird commonly found in North America. This bird is mainly a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south during harsh weather. This species has rarely been observed in Europe. ...
s. The shells of the eggs of brood-parasitic cuckoos are usually thicker and stronger than those of their hosts. This protects the egg if a host parent tries to damage it, and may make it resistant to cracking when dropped into a host nest. Cuckoo eggshells have two distinct layers. In some nesting cuckoos, a thick, outer, chalky layer is not present on the eggs of most brood-parasitic species, with some exceptions, and the eggshells of Old World parasitic cuckoos have a thick outer layer that is different from that of nesting cuckoos.
The cuckoo egg hatches earlier than the host eggs, and the cuckoo chick grows faster; in most cases, the chick evicts the eggs and/or young of the host species. The chick has no time to learn this behavior, nor does any parent stay around to teach it, so it must be an instinct
Instinct is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour, containing both innate (inborn) and learned elements. The simplest example of an instinctive behaviour is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a v ...
passed on genetically.
One reason for the cuckoo egg's hatching sooner is that, after the egg is fully formed, the female cuckoo holds it in her oviduct for another 24 hours prior to laying. This means that the egg has already had 24 hours of internal incubation. Furthermore, the cuckoo's internal temperature is 3-4°C higher than the temperature at which the egg is incubated in the nest, and the higher temperature means that the egg incubates faster, so at the time it is laid, the egg has already had the equivalent of 30 hours incubation in a nest.
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 A fixed action pattern is an ethological term describing an instinctive behavioral sequence that is highly stereotyped and species-characteristic. Fixed action patterns are said to be produced by the innate releasing mechanism, a "hard-wired" neural ...
.[''Biology'' (4th edition) NA Campbell, p. 117 'Fixed Action Patterns' (Benjamin Cummings NY, 1996) ]
Since obligate brood parasites need to successfully trick their host for them to reproduce, they have evolved adaptations at several stages of breeding. High costs of parasitism are exerted on the host, leading to strong selections on the host to recognize and reject parasitic eggs. The adaptations and counter-adaptations between hosts and parasites have led to a coevolution "arms race". This means that if one of the species involved were to stop adapting, it would lose the race to the other species, resulting in decreased fitness of the losing species. The egg-stage adaptation is the best studied stage of this arms race.
Cuckoos have various strategies for getting their eggs into host nests. Different species use different strategies based on host defensive strategies. Female cuckoos have secretive and fast laying behaviors, but in some cases, males have been shown to lure host adults away from their nests so that the females can lay their eggs in the nest. Some host species may directly try to prevent cuckoos laying eggs in their nest in the first place – birds whose nests are at high risk of cuckoo-contamination are known to "mob" attack cuckoos to drive them out of the area. Parasitic cuckoos are grouped into gentes, with each gens specializing in a particular host. Some evidence suggests 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. 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 common cuckoos that females 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 is exhibited in cuckoos that parasitize hosts with dark, domed nests. Some adult parasitic cuckoos 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.
Two main hypotheses on the cognitive mechanisms mediate host distinguishing of eggs. One hypothesis is true recognition, which states that a host compares eggs present in its clutch to an internal template (learnt or innate), to identify if parasitic eggs are present. However, memorizing a template of a parasitic egg is costly and imperfect and likely not identical to each host's egg. The other one is the discordancy hypothesis, which states that a host compares eggs in the clutch and identifies the odd ones. However, if parasitic eggs made the majority of eggs in the clutch, then hosts ends up rejecting their own eggs. More recent studies have found that both mechanisms more likely contribute to host discrimination of parasitic eggs since one compensates for the limitations of the other.
The parasitism is not necessarily entirely detrimental to the host species. A 16-year dataset was used in 2014 to find that carrion crow
The carrion crow (''Corvus corone'') is a passerine bird of the family Corvidae and the genus ''Corvus'' which is native to western Europe and the eastern Palearctic.
Taxonomy and systematics
The carrion crow was one of the many species origi ...
nests in a region of northern Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
were more successful overall (more likely to produce at least one crow fledgling) when parasitised by the great spotted cuckoo
The great spotted cuckoo (''Clamator glandarius'') is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals.
It is widely spread throughout Africa and the Mediterranean Basin. It i ...
. The researchers attributed this to a strong-smelling predator-repelling substance secreted by cuckoo chicks when attacked, and noted that the interactions were not necessarily simply parasitic or mutualistic. This relationship was not observed for any other host species, or for any other species of cuckoo. Great spotted cuckoo chicks do not evict host eggs or young, and are smaller and weaker than carrion crow chicks, so both of these factors may have contributed to the effect observed.
However, subsequent research using a dataset from southern Spain failed to replicate these findings, and the second research team also criticised the methodology used in experiments described in the first paper. The authors of the first study have responded to points made in the second and both groups agree that further research is needed before the mutualistic effect can be considered proven.
Calls
Cuckoos are often highly secretive, and in many cases, best known for their wide repertoire of calls
Call or Calls may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* Call, a type of betting in poker
* Call, in the game of contract bridge, a bid, pass, double, or redouble in the bidding stage
Music and dance
* Call (band), from Lahore, Paki ...
. These are usually relatively simple, resembling whistles, flutes, or hiccups. The calls are used to demonstrate ownership of a territory
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
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 male cuckoo, also familiar from cuckoo clock
A cuckoo clock is, typically, a pendulum clock that strikes the hours with a sound like a common cuckoo call and has an automated cuckoo bird that moves with each note. Some move their wings and open and close their beaks while leaning forwards ...
s. In most cuckoos, the calls are distinctive to particular species, and are useful for identification. Several cryptic species
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
are best identified on the basis of their calls.
Phylogeny and evolution
The family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Cuculidae was introduced by English zoologist William Elford Leach
William Elford Leach Royal Society, FRS (2 February 1791 – 25 August 1836) was an English zoologist and marine biologist.
Life and work
Elford Leach was born at Hoe Gate, Plymouth, the son of an attorney. At the age of twelve he began a me ...
in a guide to the contents of the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
published in 1820.
Very little fossil record of cuckoos has been found, and their evolutionary history remains unclear. ''Dynamopterus
''Dynamopterus velox'' is a prehistoric bird, known from a single large right humerus recovered in France. The humerus shares anatomical features with living cuckoo
Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cu ...
'' was an Oligocene genus of large cuckoo, though it may have been related to cariamas, instead.
A 2014 genome analysis by Erich Jarvis and collaborators found a clade
A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...
of birds that contains the orders Cuculiformes (cuckoos), Musophagiformes (turacos), and Otidiformes (bustards). This has been named the Otidimorphae.[ Relationships between the orders is unclear.
The following ]cladogram
A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to d ...
shows the phylogenetic relationships between the genera. It is from a 2005 study by Michael Sorenson and Robert Payne and is based solely on an analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences. The number of species in each genus is taken from the list maintained by Frank Gill Frank Gill may refer to:
* Frank Gill (Australian footballer) (1908–1970), Australian rules footballer with Carlton
* Frank Gill (footballer, born 1948), footballer for Tranmere Rovers
*Frank Gill (politician) (1917–1982), New Zealand politicia ...
, Pamela Rasmussen
Pamela Cecile Rasmussen (born October 16, 1959) is an American ornithologist and expert on Asian birds. She was formerly a research associate at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and is based at the Michigan State University. She ...
and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee
The International Ornithologists' Union, formerly known as the International Ornithological Committee, is a group of about 200 international ornithologists, and is responsible for the International Ornithological Congress and other international ...
(IOC).[
]
Taxonomy and systematics
For the living members of each genus, see the article List of cuckoo species
The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) recognizes these 150 species of cuckoos in the family Cuculidae. In addition to the 88 species whose name includes "cuckoo", the family includes anis, roadrunners, coucals, couas, malkohas, and ko ...
.
The family Cuculidae contains 150 species which are divided into 33 genera. These numbers include two species that have become extinct in historical times: the snail-eating coua
Delalande's coua (''Coua delalandei''), also known as the snail-eating coua or Delalande's coucal, is an extinct species of non-parasitic cuckoo from Madagascar. It only was known to science as an extant bird for a very short time in the early 19 ...
from Madagascar and the Saint Helena cuckoo
The Saint Helena cuckoo (''Nannococcyx psix'') is an extinct bird. It was confirmed to have previously existed by a single humerus. Compared to other cuckoos, it was relatively small, and it probably lived in forests on the island of Saint Hel ...
which is placed in its own genus Nannococcyx.
* Subfamily Crotophaginae
The Crotophaginae are a small subfamily, within the cuckoo family Cuculidae, of four gregarious bird species occurring in the Americas. They were previously classified as a family Crotophagidae.
The subfamily is notable for the development of co ...
– New World group-living cuckoos
** Genus '' Guira'' – guira cuckoo
** Genus ''Crotophaga
The anis are the three species of 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.Payne, R.B. (2005). ''The Cuckoos''. Oxford ...
'' – true anis (3 species)
* Subfamily Neomorphinae
The Neomorphinae are 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. Only ''Dromococcyx'' and ''Tapera'' are more arbor ...
– New World ground cuckoos
** Genus '' Tapera'' – striped cuckoo
** Genus ''Dromococcyx
''Dromococcyx'' 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
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively c ...
'' (2 species)
** Genus '' Morococcyx'' – lesser ground cuckoo
** Genus ''Geococcyx
The roadrunners (genus ''Geococcyx''), also known as chaparral birds or chaparral cocks, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos with long tails and crests. They are found in the southwestern and south-central United States and Mexico, us ...
'' – roadrunners (2 species)
** Genus ''Neomorphus
''Neomorphus'' is a genus of terrestrial cuckoos in the family Cuculidae. Despite their relatively large size, they are highly inconspicuous and rarely seen. They are restricted to the humid primary forests in the Neotropics, and despite their si ...
'' – Neotropical ground-cuckoos (5 species)
* Subfamily Centropodinae – coucals
** Genus ''Centropus
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, though they do have their own reprod ...
'' – (29 species)
* Subfamily Couinae – Madagasy and South East Asian ground cuckoos
** Genus ''Carpococcyx
''Carpococcyx'' is a genus of large terrestrial cuckoos in the family Cuculidae. They are restricted to humid forested regions in Southeast Asia. Despite their similarities, they are not closely related to the South American ground cuckoos of t ...
'' – Asian ground-cuckoos (3 species)
** Genus ''Coua
Couas are large, mostly terrestrial birds of the cuckoo family, endemic to the island of Madagascar.
Couas are reminiscent of African turacos when walking along tree branches, and they likewise feature brightly coloured bare skin around the eyes ...
'' – couas (9 living species, 1 recently extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
)
* Subfamily Cuculinae
** Genus '' Rhinortha'' – Raffles's malkoha
** Tribe Phaenicophaeini
** Genus ''Ceuthmochares
''Ceuthmochares'' is a genus of 2 species of cuckoos in the family Cuculidae. The two species were once treated as a single species, known as the yellowbill. Both species are found in evergreen forest in Africa. Although they are cuckoos they ar ...
'' – yellowbills (2 species)
** Genus '' Taccocua'' – Sirkeer malkoha
** Genus '' Zanclostomus'' – red-billed malkoha
** Genus ''Phaenicophaeus
''Phaenicophaeus'' is a genus of 6 species of cuckoos in the family Cuculidae.
References
External links
*
*{{Wikispecies-inline, Phaenicophaeus
Bird genera
Phaenicophaeus ...
'' – typical malkohas (6 species)
** Genus ''Dasylophus
''Dasylophus'' is a genus of 2 species of cuckoos in the family Cuculidae
Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, ...
'' – (2 species)
** Genus ''Rhamphococcyx
The yellow-billed malkoha (''Rhamphococcyx calyorhynchus'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is Endemism, endemic to Sulawesi, Indonesia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
References
...
'' – yellow-billed malkoha
** Genus ''Clamator
''Clamator'' is a genus of large brood-parasitic cuckoos with crests and graduated tails.
The genus was erected by German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1829 with the great spotted cuckoo (''Clamator glandarius'') as the type species. The n ...
'' – (4 species)
** Genus ''Coccycua
''Coccycua'' 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 ''Coccyzus'' (two species) and ''Piaya'' (one species), or the former were assig ...
'' – formerly in ''Coccyzus'' and ''Piaya'', includes ''Micrococcyx'' (3 species)
** Genus ''Piaya
''Piaya'' 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:
The little cuckoo has been found to be closer to some species traditiona ...
'' – (2 species)
** Genus ''Coccyzus
''Coccyzus'' is a genus of cuckoos which occur in the Americas. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kokkuzo'', which means to call like a common cuckoo. The genus includes the lizard cuckoos that were formerly included in the genus ''Sauroth ...
'' – includes ''Saurothera'' and ''Hyetornis'' (13 species)
** Tribe Cuculini – brood-parasitic cuckoos of the Old World
** Genus '' Pachycoccyx'' – thick-billed cuckoo
** Genus '' Microdynamis'' – dwarf koel
** Genus '' Eudynamys'' – typical koels (3 species)
** Genus '' Scythrops'' – channel-billed cuckoo
** Genus '' Urodynamis'' – Pacific long-tailed cuckoo
** Genus ''Chrysococcyx
''Chrysococcyx'' is a genus of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae.
The genus ''Chrysococcyx'' was erected by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1826 with the African emerald cuckoo (''Chrysococcyx cupreus'') as the type species. The name ''Chr ...
'' – bronze cuckoos (13 species)
** Genus ''Cacomantis
''Cacomantis'' is a genus of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. 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 predicte ...
'' – (10 species)
** Genus ''Surniculus
'' Surniculus '' is a small genus of birds in the cuckoo family. Its four members are found in tropical Asia and the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika n ...
'' – drongo-cuckoos (4 species)
** Genus ''Cercococcyx
''Cercococcyx'' is a genus of cuckoos in the family Cuculidae, known as the long-tailed cuckoos.
Species
''Cercococcyx'' contains the following species:
* Whistling long-tailed cuckoo (''Cercococcyx lemaireae'')
*Barred long-tailed cuckoo (''Cer ...
'' – long-tailed cuckoos (4 species)
** Genus ''Hierococcyx
Hierococcyx or hawk-cuckoos is a genus of birds in the family Cuculidae. The resemblance to hawks gives this group the generic name of hawk-cuckoos.
It is sometimes included in the genus Cuculus.
Species
* Moustached hawk-cuckoo (''Hierococcy ...
'' – hawk-cuckoos (8 species)
** Genus ''Cuculus
''Cuculus'' 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.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Cuculus'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist ...
'' – typical cuckoos (11 species)
** † Genus '' Nannococcyx'' – Saint Helena cuckoo
The Saint Helena cuckoo (''Nannococcyx psix'') is an extinct bird. It was confirmed to have previously existed by a single humerus. Compared to other cuckoos, it was relatively small, and it probably lived in forests on the island of Saint Hel ...
(extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
)
* Fossils
** Genus ''Dynamopterus
''Dynamopterus velox'' is a prehistoric bird, known from a single large right humerus recovered in France. The humerus shares anatomical features with living cuckoo
Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cu ...
'' (fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
: Late Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
/Early Oligocene
The 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 . It is preceded by the Priabonian Stage (part of the Eocene) and is followed by the Chatti ...
of Caylus, Tarn-et-Garonne
Caylus (; Languedocien: ''Cailutz'') is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Its inhabitants are called Caylusiens and Caylusiennes.
City
Caylus is famous for a castle built before 1176, and was ...
, France)
** Genus '' Cursoricoccyx'' (fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
: Early Miocene
The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages.
The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 Ma to 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). It was prece ...
of Logan County, USA) – Neomorphinae?
** Cuculidae gen. et sp. indet. (fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
: Early Pliocene
Early may refer to:
History
* The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.:
** Early Christianity
** Early modern Europe
Places in the United States
* Early, Iowa
* Early, Texas
* Early ...
of Lee Creek Mine, USA)
** Genus ''Neococcyx
''Neococcyx mccorquodalei'' is a prehistoric bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate ...
'' (fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
: Early Oligocene of Central North America)
** Genus ''Eocuculus
''Eocuculus cherpinae'' is a prehistoric bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a ...
'' (fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
: Late Eocene of Teller County, USA)
In human culture
In Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
, the god Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D ...
transformed himself into a cuckoo so that he could seduce the goddess Hera
In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...
, to whom the bird was sacred. In England, William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
alludes to the common cuckoo's association with spring, and with cuckoldry
A cuckold is the husband of an adulterous wife; the wife of an adulterous husband is a cuckquean. In biology, a cuckold is a male who unwittingly invests parental effort in juveniles who are not genetically his offspring. A husband who is aw ...
, in the courtly springtime song in his play ''Love's Labours Lost
''Love's Labour's Lost'' is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before Elizabeth I of England, Queen Elizabeth I. It follows the King of Navarre and ...
''. In India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, cuckoos are sacred to Kamadeva
Kama ( sa, काम, ), also known as Kamadeva and Manmatha, is the Hindu god of love and desire, often portrayed alongside his consort, Rati.
The Atharvaveda, Atharva Veda regards Kamadeva as the wielder of the creative power of the universe ...
, the god of desire and longing, whereas in Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, the cuckoo symbolises unrequited love. Cuckoos are a sacred animal to the Bon
''Bon'', also spelled Bön () and also known as Yungdrung Bon (, "eternal Bon"), is a Tibetan religious tradition with many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism and also many unique features.Samuel 2012, pp. 220-221. Bon initially developed in t ...
religion of Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
.
The orchestral composition "On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring
''On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring'' is a tone poem composed in 1912 by Frederick Delius. Together with ''Summer Night on the River'' it is one of Delius's ''Two Pieces for Small Orchestra''. The two were first performed in Leipzig on 23 Oc ...
" by Frederick Delius
Delius, photographed in 1907
Frederick Theodore Albert Delius ( 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934), originally Fritz Delius, was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family, he resisted atte ...
imitates sounds of the cuckoo.[Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring".](_blank)
IMSLP Petrucci Library. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
The greater roadrunner, a cuckoo, is the state bird of the US state of New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
and is a common symbol of the American Southwest
The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, N ...
in general. "Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner
Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons, first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical cartoon short ''Fast and Furry-ous''. In each episode, t ...
" was a long-running series of cartoons by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...
Studios that has had enduring popularity from the time the characters were created in 1949 through the present, and helps define the image of the roadrunner in popular culture
Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
.
Since 1962, Sonny the Cuckoo Bird
Sonny is a common nickname and occasional given name. Often it can be a derivative of the English word "Son", a name derived from the Ancient Germanic element *sunn meaning "sun", a nickname derived from the Italian name Salvatore (especially in N ...
has been the mascot for Cocoa Puffs
Cocoa Puffs is an American brand of chocolate-flavored puffed grain breakfast cereal, manufactured by General Mills. Introduced in 1956, the cereal consists of small orbs of corn and rice flavored with cocoa. Cocoa Puffs have the same shape as K ...
, a product of General Mills
General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...
that was launched six years before the character was created.
The metaphor of the cuckoo's egg
''Cuckoo's Egg'' is a science fiction novel by American writer C. J. Cherryh, which introduces a fictional race (the Shonunin) raising a human boy. It was published by DAW Books in 1985, and there was also a limited hardcover printing by Pha ...
is referenced in the title of the anime and manga series ''A Couple of Cuckoos
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Miki Yoshikawa. It was originally published as a one-shot in September 2019, before beginning serialization in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' in January 2020. An anime television ...
'', where two infants are switched at birth and raised by the other's family.
References
Sources
*
*
External links
Cuckoo sounds on xeno-canto.org
Cuckoo videos on the Internet Bird Collection
{{Authority control
*
Articles containing video clips
Priabonian first appearances
Extant Eocene first appearances
Taxa named by William Elford Leach