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Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (Chalcites [Chrysococcyx] lucidus) Alternate name(s): "Golden Bronze-Cuckoo", "Greenback", "Broad-billed Bronze-Cuckoo" Aboriginal name(s): "djorit*" (WA) Size: 16-18 cm; wing span: 25-32 cm Body mass: 17-35 g Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.19-0.23

Australia: Family Group 13 Family Group 13 Table Oriental Cuckoo Pallid Cuckoo Brush Cuckoo Black-eared Cuckoo Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo Fan-tailed Cuckoo Horsefield's Bronze-Cuckoo Shining Bronze-Cuckoo Little Bronze-Cuckoo Australian Koel Channel-billed Cuckoo Pheasant Coucal Rufous Owl Powerful Owl Barking Owl Australian Boobook Eastern Barn Owl Eastern Grass Owl Australian Masked Owl Greater Sooty Owl Lesser Sooty Owl Marbled Frogmouth Tawny Frogmouth Papuan Frogmouth White-throated Nightjar Spotted Nightjar Large-tailed Nightjar Australian Owlet-nightjar Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Thumbnails page Birds home page

Similar species

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Shining Bronze-Cuckoos are small cuckoos. The plumage of Shining Bronze-Cuckoos depends on race. The nominate (New Zealand) race "lucidus" has a metallic-green cap, while Australian race "plagosus" has a russet-brown cap. Otherwise the two races are similar, with a white front, from the eyes and bill downwards, barred completely with greyish-green bars. Shining Bronze-Cuckoos do not have eye stripes, but inconspicuous grey eye-rings. The back is shiny metallic-green. Depending on the angle of infalling sunlight, the upperwings can show some iridescence. The undertail is barred white and dark-grey, with some central grey feathers. The irises are dark, the bill is black and the legs and feet are grey. Juvenile Shining Bronze-Cuckoos have more inconspicuous colours than adults and no barring on their front yet, but the tail is barred. Twitcher's tip Shining Bronze-Cuckoos are distinguished from Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoos by the absence of an eye stripe.

Taxonomy, classification See Shining Bronze-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 Shining Bronze-Cuckoo is available HERE . The range of the Shining Bronze-Cuckoo extends from the islands of far south-eastern Asia (eastern Indonesia, Timor Leste, New Guinea) via basically all of Oceania (the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji) to Australia, New Zealand and Chatham Island). There are two races of Shining Bronze-Cuckoos both of which migrate to Australia from the North. Nominate race "lucidus" migrates to Australia (and further on to New Zealand) via the Torres Strait. It populates the entire eastern seaboard and the Great Dividing Range of Australia, including all of VIC and Tasmania and extending into the far south-eastern corner of SA near Adelaide and the tip of Eyre peninsula. Race "lucidus" breeds from southern QLD (roughly the tropic of Capricorn) southward, throughout the entire range described above, including both Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island). Shining Bronze-Cuckoos, race "plagosus", breed only in Australia. They populate both the eastern seaboard (where they mix with race "lucidus") and the south-western corner of WA. The Shining Bronze-Cuckoos, race "plagosus", in WA migrate from the North (e.g. East Timor), straight to the North-West coast of WA. Shining Bronze-Cuckoos can be found in various types of forest and woodland.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "plagosus" A Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, race "plagosus", was spotted by us at Yarrie Lake, 30 km West of Narrabri, NSW, in September 2012. B. Hensen reports spotting a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, race "plagosus", in St. Albans, NSW, in May 2013. Shining Bronze-Cuckoos, race "plagosus", were heard by us calling at Upper Bullawa Creek, Mt. Kaputar NP, in October 2013. We thank B. Hensen for identifying the birds' calls. In May 2014 several Shining Bronze-Cuckoos, race "plagosus", were found in Leard State Forest, at a time when one would have expected them to have departed to the North of the continent. C. Hayne reports finding a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo in scrub about 25 km West of Moree, NSW, in June 2014. In October 2015 a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, race "plagosus", was found in the southern Pilliga scrub. In the 2016 season the first Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, race "plagosus", was heard calling at Eulah Creek, 20 km East of Narrabri, NSW, on 8 August. Various contributors report to us finding Shining Bronze-Cuckoos, race "plagosus", regularly in various locations along the near-coastal fringe and the Great Dividing Range of southern and central QLD. R. Plumtree reports spotting Shining Bronze-Cuckoos, race "plagosus", occasionally in various parts of East Gippsland, VIC. J. Greaves spotted a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, race "plagosus", at Lake Careniup, Perth, WA, in July 2015. J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours reports finding a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, race "plagosus", at Mount Hypipamee, QLD, in December 2022. C. Pears found a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, race "plagosus", in Quindalup, WA, in November 2025.

Photos

Race "plagosus"

This race is also called the "Golden Bronze-Cuckoo".

ADULT

PAIR

Many bird species exhibit sexual dimorphism, i.e., male and female have differing appearances which can be quite subtle.
Male Shining Bronze-Cuckoos, left, have a golden cap, but it is less extended than the female's, which reaches down the neck to the shoulders and chest.

MALE

Frontal view of a male(?) Shining Bronze-Cuckoo foraging on the ground (photo courtesy of A. Campbell)
[Mount McEuen, QLD, November 2016]

Near-lateral view of a male(?) Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, March 2019]

Lateral view of a male(?) Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Near Ensay, East Gippsland, VIC, October 2014]

Lateral/ventral view of a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo with its prey, a leaf-eating insect; note the grey cap indicative of a male
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, May 2013]

Close-up lateral view of a male Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of C. Charles)
[Near Coolum, QLD, January 2013]

Lateral view of a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo with its wings spread (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay South, East Gippsland, VIC, December 2014]

Near-dorsal view of a male Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of A. Campbell)
[Mount McEuen, QLD, November 2016]

Near-dorsal view of a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of A. Campbell)
[Mount McEuen, QLD, November 2016]

Near-dorsal view of a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo; note the leaf damage in the lower left (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, May 2013]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Shining Bronze-Cuckoo - note how the bronze gloss of the cap extends onto the mantle
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, March 2019]

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

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

Near-frontal view of a female Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, September 2018]

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

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

Near-lateral view of a female Shining Bronze-Cuckoo; the bronze cap and golden neck are indicative of a female
(photo courtesy of E. Scott)
[Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, August 2017]

Lateral view of a female Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, March 2019]

Dorsal view of a female Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, March 2019]

Sex unknown

Close-up frontal view of a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Mount Hypipamee, QLD, December 2022]

Frontal/ventral view of a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Alpine NP, VIC, October 2018]

Near-lateral view of a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Alpine NP, VIC, October 2018]

Lateral view of a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Alpine NP, VIC, October 2018]

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

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

Near-dorsal view of a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Lake Careniup, Perth, WA, July 2015]

Dorsal view of a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Alpine NP, VIC, October 2018]

Dorsal view of a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Gold Scrub Lane, Samsonvale, QLD, May 2020]

Although unfortunately a "classical bum shot" of a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, the full-resolution version of this photo shows interesting details of the colour pattern of the bars on the underparts (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Lake Careniup, Perth, WA, July 2015]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of a juvenile Shining Bronze-Cuckoo; note the absence of frontal barring (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Kingaroy, QLD, November 2013]

Near-frontal view of a juvenile Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of R. Russell)
[Mount Molloy, QLD, January 2012]

Near-lateral view of a juvenile Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay, Doctors Flat Road, East Gippsland, VIC, December 2019]

Lateral view of a juvenile Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay, Doctors Flat Road, East Gippsland, VIC, December 2019]

Lateral/ventral view of a juvenile Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of R. Druce)

The same juvenile Shining Bronze-Cuckoo as shown above (photo courtesy of R. Druce)

Near-dorsal view of a juvenile Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay, Doctors Flat Road, East Gippsland, VIC, December 2019]

Dorsal view of a juvenile Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Kingaroy, QLD, November 2013]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Migratory

Elementary unit: Solitary

Together with the Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Shining Bronze-Cuckoos are one of only two species of parasitic cuckoos in Australia that can stay in the cooler southern part of the continent during the southern winter. The others will migrate to the North.

Shining Bronze-Cuckoo using its tail as a prop while foraging for prey in the bark of a tree, giving a clear view of the markings on the tail feathers (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, September 2018]

Shining Bronze-Cuckoo giving a clear view of its upperwing pattern (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, September 2018]

Shining Bronze-Cuckoo in a stretched posture, giving it a very slim appearance (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, September 2018]

Food, Diet

Like other small cuckoos, Shining Bronze-Cuckoos are insectivores.

Frontal view of a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo with its prey, a hairy caterpillar (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cairns, QLD, July 2018]

Near-lateral view of a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo with its prey (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, March 2019]

Lateral view of a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo with its prey, a hairy caterpillar (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, September 2018]

Lateral/ventral view of a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo with its prey, a leaf-eating insect; it was seen in the same tree for 3 days, together with a Fan-tailed Cuckoo (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, May 2013]

Same day of the year, one year on; same tree; same kind of grub - same bird? Shining Bronze-Cuckoo with its prey
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, May 2014]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

shbcuck_20210820.m4a	plagosus (NW NSW)	Territorial calls male?	© MD
shbcuck_20240712.m4a	plagosus (NW NSW)	Territorial calls male?	© MD
shbcuck_cp_20251103.m4a	plagosus (SW WA)	Territorial calls male?	© CP
shbcuck_20240712_2.m4a	plagosus (NW NSW)	Territorial calls (2 males Q&A)	© MD
shbcuck_20170607.m4a	plagosus (SE QLD)	Stand-off between 2 males?	© MD
shbcuck_20140526.mp3	plagosus (NW NSW)	Male getting excited	© MD

More Shining Bronze-Cuckoo sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

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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