|
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 Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. The genus name is the Latin word for "cuckoo". The type species is the common cuckoo (''Cuculus canorus''). Species The genus contains 11 species: * Black cuckoo, ''Cuculus clamosus'' * Red-chested cuckoo, ''Cuculus solitarius'' * Lesser cuckoo, ''Cuculus poliocephalus'' * Sulawesi cuckoo or Sulawesi hawk-cuckoo, ''Cuculus crassirostris'' * Indian cuckoo, ''Cuculus micropterus'' * Madagascar cuckoo, ''Cuculus rochii'' * African cuckoo, ''Cuculus gularis'' * Himalayan cuckoo, ''Cuculus saturatus'' * Oriental cuckoo, ''Cuculus optatus'' (formerly ''horsfieldi'') (split from ''C. saturatus'') * Sunda cuckoo, ''Cuculus lepidus'' (split from ''C. sat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Cuckoo
The cuckoo, common cuckoo, European cuckoo or Eurasian cuckoo (''Cuculus canorus'') is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the Geococcyx, roadrunners, the ani (bird), anis and the coucals. This species is a widespread summer bird migration, migrant to Europe and Asia, and winters in Africa. It is a brood parasite, which means it lays eggs in the nests of other bird species, particularly of dunnocks, meadow pipits, and Eurasian reed warbler, reed warblers. Although its eggs are larger than those of its hosts, the eggs in each type of host nest resemble the host's eggs. The adult too is a mimicry, mimic, in its case of the Eurasian sparrowhawk, sparrowhawk; since that species is a predator, the mimicry gives the female time to lay her eggs without being attacked. Taxonomy The species' binomial name is derived from the Latin language, Latin (the cuckoo) and (melodious; from , meaning "to sing"). The cuckoo family gets its common name and Binomial no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red-chested Cuckoo
The red-chested cuckoo (''Cuculus solitarius'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is a medium-sized bird found in Africa, south of the Sahara. In Afrikaans, it is known as "Piet-my-vrou", after its call. Description The red-chested cuckoo is a medium-size cuckoo about in length. The male has slate-grey upper parts, pale grey throat and sides of head and dark grey tail tipped with white. The breast is rufous or cinnamon, often with barring, and the belly is creamy-white or pale buff. The female is similar but the colour of the breast is duller and with variable amounts of barring. Distribution and habitat It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Cuckoo
The Indian cuckoo or short-winged cuckoo (''Cuculus micropterus'') is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, that is found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It ranges from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia and north to China and Russia. It is a solitary and shy bird, found in forests and open woodland at up to . Description This is a medium-sized cuckoo with both sexes alike. It has grey upperparts while the underside has broad black barring. The tail is barred with a broad subterminal dark band and a white tip. Young birds have white markings on the crown and white chin and throat contrasting with a dark face. Juveniles are browner and have broad white tips to the head and wing feathers. The eye-ring is gray to yellow (a feature shared with the common hawk-cuckoo). The iris is light brown to reddish. The female differs from the male in being slightly paler grey on the throat and in having more brown on the breast a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oriental Cuckoo
The Oriental cuckoo or Horsfields cuckoo (''Cuculus optatus'') is a bird belonging to the genus ''Cuculus'' in the cuckoo family Cuculidae. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the Himalayan cuckoo (''C. saturatus''), with the name 'Oriental cuckoo' used for the combined species. Differences in voice and size suggest that it should be treated as a separate species.King, Ben (2005The taxonomic status of the three subspecies of ''Cuculus saturatus''. ''Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club'', 125 (1):48-55 The binomial name ''Cuculus horsfieldi'' has often been used instead of ''Cuculus optatus'', but is now usually considered to be a junior synonym.Peterson, Alan P. (ed.) (1999) Zoological Nomenclature Resource (Zoonomen).' Accessed 22/08/07. Description It is 30–32 centimetres long with a wingspan of 51–57 centimetres and a weight of 73–156 grams. The adult male has a grey head, breast and upperparts. The belly is creamy-white with dark bars. The vent is fre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cuckoo
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, coucals, and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separated as distinct families, the Centropodidae and Crotophagidae, respectively. The cuckoo order Cuculiformes is one of three that make up the Otidimorphae, the other two being the turacos and the bustards. 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; 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 parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species and giving rise to the terms " cu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insect
Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, Thorax (insect anatomy), thorax and abdomen (insect anatomy), abdomen), three pairs of jointed Arthropod leg, legs, compound eyes, and a pair of antenna (biology), antennae. Insects are the most diverse group of animals, with more than a million described species; they represent more than half of all animal species. The insect nervous system consists of a insect brain, brain and a ventral nerve cord. Most insects reproduce Oviparous, by laying eggs. Insects Respiratory system of insects, breathe air through a system of Spiracle (arthropods), paired openings along their sides, connected to Trachea#Invertebrates, small tubes that take air directly to the tissues. The blood therefore does not carry oxygen; it is only partly contained in ves ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bird Migration
Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Animal migration, Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality. The Arctic tern holds the long-distance migration record for birds, travelling between Arctic breeding grounds and the Antarctic each year. Some species of Procellariiformes, tubenoses, such as albatrosses, circle the Earth, flying over the southern oceans, while others such as Manx shearwaters migrate between their northern breeding grounds and the southern ocean. Shorter migrations are common, while longer ones are not. The shorter migrations include altitudinal migrations on mountains, including the Andes and Himalayas. The timing of migration seems to be controlled primarily by changes in day length. Migrating birds navigate using celestial cues from the Sun and stars, the Earth's magnetic field, and mental maps. Histor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Himalayan Cuckoo
''Cuculus saturatus'', better well known as the Himalayan cuckoo or Oriental cuckoo, is a brooding parasitic bird that is part of the Cuculidae family. The species breeds from the Himalayas eastward to southern China and Taiwan. It migrates to southeast Asia and the Greater Sunda Islands for the winter. It was formerly known as "Oriental cuckoo" and contained several subspecies found over most of Asia. In 2005, it was determined that this "species" consists of three distinct lineages: * Himalayan cuckoo, ''Cuculus (saturatus) saturatus'' * Oriental cuckoo proper, ''Cuculus (saturatus) optatus'' * Sunda cuckoo, ''Cuculus (saturatus) lepidus'' These are usually seen as distinct species nowadays. As the type specimen of the former "Oriental" cuckoo is a bird of the Himalayan population, the name ''saturatus'' applies to the Himalayan cuckoo if it is considered a species. Taxonomy With new information from a recent mtDNA study, it appears that the Himalayan cuckoo is most closel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cacomantis
''Cacomantis'' is a genus of cuckoos in the family Cuculidae. The name is from the Ancient Greek κακομαντις (''kakomantis'') meaning "prophet of evil". Most species have a round nostril and are mainly in brown and gray colours. The tails are graduated and barred. The bars are transverse in ''sonneratii'' and oblique in all others.Payne, RB (2005). The Cuckoos. Oxford University Press. p. 422 Taxonomy The genus ''Cacomantis'' was introduced in 1843 by the German naturalist Salomon Müller. He did not specify a type species; this was subsequently designated as ''Cuculus flavus'' Gmelin, a junior synonym of ''Cuculus merulinus'' Scopoli (the plaintive cuckoo). The genus name is from the Ancient Greek ''kakomantis'' meaning "prophet of doom". Müller explained that local people on the Maluku Islands thought of these species as "birds of misfortune" due to their mournful calls and their frequent presence in cemeteries. Species The genus contains 11 species: * Chestnu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hierococcyx
''Hierococcyx'' or hawk-cuckoos is a genus of birds in the family Cuculidae. They are distributed in South, Southeast, and East Asia. The resemblance to hawks gives this group the generic name of hawk-cuckoos. They are known to vocalize at their breeding grounds, making identification based on calls easy. It is sometimes included in the genus ''Cuculus''. It's similarity to hawks gave rise to an ancient belief that cuckoos transformed themself into hawks during the winter months, when cuckoos disappeared from Europe. Mimicry Hawk-cuckoos closely resemble accipiters in terms of appearance, an elongated body with long wings and tail, greyish or brownish upperparts with paler barred upperparts, as well as their swift direct flight. Apart from shape and colour, underpart barring tend to increase alarm in small parts. This form of batesian mimicry makes the cuckoo look dangerous to the host, reducing host agression or Mobbing (animal behavior), resulting in more opportunities fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pallid Cuckoo
The pallid cuckoo (''Heteroscenes pallidus'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Heteroscenes''. It is found in Australia, with some migration to the islands of Timor and Papua New Guinea. It is between in size, with distinctive markings such as a dark bill, a dark eye with a gold eye-ring and olive grey feet which differentiate it from other cuckoos. The pallid cuckoo is similar in appearance to the oriental cuckoo (''Cuculus optatus''), with barred immature pallid cuckoos being often mistaken for oriental cuckoos. Taxonomy English ornithologist John Latham described the pallid cuckoo in 1801 as ''Columba pallida'' "pale pigeon". Sources differ in the genera placement of this species. It is commonly placed in '' Cuculus'', but genetic evidence and its song support its placement in '' Cacomantis'', with its closest relative the white-crowned cuckoo (''Cacomantis leucolophus''). "Pallid cuckoo" has been designated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
