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13

Oriental Cuckoo

(Cuculus optatus)
Alternate name(s): "Horsfield's Cuckoo", "Blyth's Cuckoo", "Saturated Cuckoo", "Hawk-cuckoo"
Size: 28-33 cm; wing span 51-57 cm
Weight: 75-130 g

Similar
species

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

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Oriental Cuckoo at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

ADULT

MALE

Frontal view of a male Oriental Cuckoo; note the all-grey upper body and head (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Whites Hill Reserve, Brisbane, QLD, February 2019]

Near-frontal view of a male Oriental Cuckoo (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Whites Hill Reserve, Brisbane, QLD, February 2019]

Lateral view of a male Oriental Cuckoo; note the absence of any rufous tinge on the foreneck, ruling out an adult female
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, March 2019]

Lateral view of a male Oriental Cuckoo (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, March 2019]

Lateral view of a male Oriental Cuckoo foraging on the ground (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, March 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a male Oriental Cuckoo (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, March 2019]

Dorsal view of a male Oriental Cuckoo (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Whites Hill Reserve, Brisbane, QLD, February 2019]

FEMALE

Grey morphology

Frontal view of a female Oriental Cuckoo; note the rufous-tinged foreneck (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, March 2019]

Near-frontal view of a female Oriental Cuckoo (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, March 2019]

Near-frontal view of a female Oriental Cuckoo (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, March 2019]

Rufous morphology

Lateral view of an "hepatic" (rufous morphology) female Oriental Cuckoo (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Eastlakes Golf Course, Sydney, NSW, March 2017]

Lateral view of an "hepatic" (rufous morphology) female Oriental Cuckoo (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Eastlakes Golf Course, Sydney, NSW, March 2017]

Near-dorsal view of an "hepatic" (rufous morphology) female Oriental Cuckoo (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Eastlakes Golf Course, Sydney, NSW, March 2017]

Ventral view of an "hepatic" (rufous morphology) female Oriental Cuckoo (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Eastlakes Golf Course, Sydney, NSW, March 2017]

Near-dorsal view of an "hepatic" (rufous morphology) female Oriental Cuckoo in low flight (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Eastlakes Golf Course, Sydney, NSW, March 2017]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral view of an immature male(?) Oriental Cuckoo moulting into adult plumage; note the white fringes of the wing feathers
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Botanical Gardens, Darwin, NT, October 2018]

Near-dorsal view of an immature male(?) Oriental Cuckoo moulting into adult plumage; note the white fringes of the wing feathers
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Botanical Gardens, Darwin, NT, October 2018]

Dorsal view of an immature male(?) Oriental Cuckoo moulting into adult plumage; note the white fringes of the wing feathers
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Botanical Gardens, Darwin, NT, October 2018]

Near-lateral view of an immature female(?) Oriental Cuckoo (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cattana Wetlands, Smithfield, QLD, December 2018]

Lateral view of an immature Oriental Cuckoo (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Leanyer Swamp, Darwin, NT, December 2020]

Food, Diet

Lateral view of a grey-morphology Oriental Cuckoo swallowing an insect (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Botanical Gardens, Darwin, NT, November 2018]

Oriental Cuckoo with its prey, a hairy caterpillar (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, March 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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