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13

Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo (Cacomantis castaneiventris) Size: 23-25 cm Weight: 34 g (average)

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Chestnut-breasted Cuckoos are medium-sized cuckoos. The head and back, including upperwings and tail, are dark-grey, while the front is all chestnut brown. The undertail shows narrow white barring. Males have slightly darker grey upperparts than females. The irises of both sexes are dark. The slightly down-curved bill is dark-grey, with a lighter grey base. Legs and feet are greyish-yellow. Juveniles have a pale-brown, unmarked front and a dark-chestnut head and back, with dark-grey barring on the tail.

Taxonomy, classification See Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Brush Cuckoo is available HERE . There are 3 extant races of Chestnut-breasted Cuckoos which, taken altogether, have a range spanning from West Papua via New Guinea to far north-eastern Australia. Race "arfakianus" is found on the West Papuan islands and the western part of New Guinea, while race "weiskei" populates the eastern half of New Guinea. Chestnut-breasted Cuckoos, race "castaneiventris", are found only on the eastern (near-)coastal fringe of Cape York peninsula, QLD. They used to populate only the northern part of the peninsula, down to about Cape Melville, but have in recent years been found as far southward as Cairns, QLD, or just beyond. Chestnut-breasted Cuckoos can usually be found in rainforest, monsoon forest and sometimes in adjacent eucalypt woodland.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "castaneiventris" M. Eaton reports finding a Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo, nominate race "castaneiventris", at Iron Range NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, in August 2019. All sighting and photographic information presented on this page has been kindly contributed by M. Eaton.

Photos

Race "castaneiventris"

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of a juvenile Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo; note the plain pale-brown front (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Iron Range NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

Dorsal view of a juvenile Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo fanning its tail and wings; note the dark-chestnut back
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Iron Range NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

Behaviour

Chestnut-breasted Cuckoos are known to host, amongst others, on Tropical Scrubwrens and Lovely Fairy-wrens.

Juvenile Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo with one of its "foster parents", a Tropical Scrubwren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Iron Range NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

Juvenile Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo being fed by one of its "foster parents", a Tropical Scrubwren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Iron Range NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Thu, 22 August 2019, 4:08 +00:00