Cuckoo Totally Explained

Everything about Cuckoo totally explained

The cuckoos are a family, Cuculidae, of near passerine birds. The order Cuculiformes, in addition to the cuckoos, also includes the turacos (family Musophagidae, sometimes treated as a separate order, Musophagiformes). Some zoologists and ecologists have also included the unique Hoatzin in the Cuculiformes, but its taxonomy remains in dispute.
The cuckoo family, in addition to those species named as such, also includes the roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separated as distinct families, the Centropodidae and Crotophagidae respectively.

Morphology

Cuckoos are birds of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs. The feet are zygodactyl (the two inner toes pointed forward and the two outer backward). Most cuckoos reside in forests, but some prefer more open country. Most are insect eaters, with hairy caterpillars, which are avoided by many birds, being a specialty. Cuckoos range in size from the Little Bronze Cuckoo, at 17 g and 15 cm (6 inches), to the Channel-billed Cuckoo, at 630 g (1.4 lbs) and 63 cm (25 inches).
Cuckoo genera differ in the number of primary wing feathers as below.

Phaenicophaeus, Coccyzus, Piaya - 9
Cuculus - 9 or 10
Pachycoccyx, Clamator levaillantii, Centropus - 10
Microdynamis, Eudynamys,Clamator glandarius - 11
Some coucals - 12
Scythrops novaehollandiae - 13

Behaviour

Breeding

About 56 of the Old World species and 3 of the New World species are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other birds. The best-known example is the European Common Cuckoo. The cuckoo egg hatches earlier than the host's, and the cuckoo chick grows faster; in most cases the chick evicts the eggs or young of the host species. The chick has no time to learn this behavior, so it must be an instinct passed on genetically. The mother still feeds the cuckoo chick as if it were her own, the chick's open mouth serving as a sign stimulus for the host to feed it.
Female parasitic cuckoos specialize and lay eggs that closely resemble the eggs of their chosen host. This also seems to have been aided by natural selection, as 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. They will also take a wide range of other insects and animal prey. The lizard-cuckoos of the Caribbean have, in the relative absence of birds of prey, 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.
Several koels, couas and the Channel-billed Cuckoo feed mainly on fruit, but they're not exclusively frugivores. The parasitic koels and Channel-billed Cuckoo in particular consume mainly fruit when raised by fruigivore hosts such as the Figbird and Pied Currawong. Other species will occasionally take fruit as well.

Calls

Cuckoos are often highly secretive and in many cases best known for their wide repertoire of calls. Calls are usually relatively simple, resembling whistles, flutes, or hiccups. The cuckoo family gets its English and scientific names from the call of the Common Cuckoo, which is also familiar from cuckoo clocks. Some of the names of other species and genera are also derived from their calls, for example the koels of Asia and Australasia. In most cuckoos the calls are distinctive to particular species, and are useful for identification. Several cryptic species have been identified on the basis of their calls.
Although cuckoos are diurnal, many species call at night.

Systematics

Unassigned

Genus Dynamopterus - fossil (Late Eocene/Early Oligocene of Caylus, France)

Genus Cursoricoccyx - fossil (Early Miocene of Logan County, USA) - Neomorphinae?

Cuculidae gen. et sp. indet. - fossil (Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, USA: Olson 1985)

Genus Nannococcyx - St Helena Cuckoo (extinct)

Subfamily Cuculinae

Brood-parasitic cuckoos.

Genus Eocuculus - fossil (Late Eocene of Teller County, USA)

Genus Clamator (4 species)

Genus Pachycoccyx

Thick-billed Cuckoo, Pachycoccyx audeberti

Genus Cuculus - typical cuckoos (some 15 species)

Genus Cercococcyx - long-tailed cuckoos

Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo, Cercococcyx mechowi
Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo, Cercococcyx olivinus
Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, Cercococcyx montanus

Genus Cacomantis

Banded Bay Cuckoo, Cacomantis sonneratii
Plaintive Cuckoo, Cacomantis merulinus
Rusty-breasted Cuckoo, Cacomantis sepulcralis
Grey-bellied Cuckoo, Cacomantis passerinus
Brush Cuckoo, Cacomantis variolosus
Moluccan Cuckoo, Cacomantis heinrichi
Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo, Cacomantis castaneiventris
Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Cacomantis flabelliformis

Genus Chrysococcyx - bronze cuckoos

Black-eared Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx osculans
Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx basalis
Shining Bronze Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx lucidus
Rufous-throated Bronze Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx ruficollis
White-eared Bronze Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx meyeri
Little Bronze Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx minutillus
Asian Emerald Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx maculatus
Violet Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx xanthorhynchus
Yellow-throated Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx flavigularis
Klaas' Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx klaas
African Emerald Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx cupreus
Dideric Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx caprius

Genus Rhamphomantis

Long-billed Cuckoo, Rhamphomantis megarhynchus

Genus Surniculus - drongo-cuckoos

Asian Drongo-cuckoo, Surniculus lugubris
Philippine Drongo-cuckoo, Surniculus velutinus

Genus Caliechthrus

White-crowned Koel, Caliechthrus leucolophus

Genus Microdynamis

Dwarf Koel, Microdynamis parva

Genus Eudynamys - true koels

Black-billed Koel, Eudynamys melanorhynchus
Asian Koel, Eudynamys scolopaceus
Australian Koel, Eudynamys cyanocephalus
Long-tailed Koel, Eudynamys taitensis
Henderson Island Koel, Eudynamis cf. taitensis - prehistoric

Genus Scythrops

Channel-billed Cuckoo, Scythrops novaehollandiae

Subfamily Phaenicophaeinae

Malkohas and couas.

Genus Ceuthmochares

Yellowbill, Ceuthmochares aereus

Genus Phaenicophaeus - malkohas (12 species)

Genus Carpococcyx - ground-cuckoos

Sumatran Ground-cuckoo, Carpococcyx viridis
Bornean Ground-cuckoo, Carpococcyx radiatus
Coral-billed Ground-cuckoo, Carpococcyx renauldi

Genus Coua - couas (9 living species, 1 recently extinct)

Subfamily Coccyzinae

American cuckoos.

Genus Coccyzus - includes Saurothera and Hyetornis, and possibly distinct Micrococcyx (13+2 species)

Genus Piaya - includes possibly distinct Coccycua (2+1 species)

Subfamily Neomorphinae

Typical ground-cuckoos.

Genus Neococcyx - fossil (Early Oligocene of C North America)

Genus Tapera - Striped Cuckoo

Genus Dromococcyx

Pheasant Cuckoo, Dromococcyx phasianellus
Pavonine Cuckoo, Dromococcyx pavoninus

Genus Morococcyx

Lesser Ground-cuckoo, Morococcyx erythropygus

Genus Geococcyx - roadrunners (2 species)

Genus Neomorphus

Scaled Ground-cuckoo, Neomorphus squamiger
Rufous-vented Ground-cuckoo, Neomorphus geoffroyi
- Bahía Rufous-vented Ground-cuckoo, Neomorphus geoffroyi maximiliani - extinct (mid-20th century)
Banded Ground-cuckoo, Neomorphus radiolosus
Rufous-winged Ground-cuckoo, Neomorphus rufipennis
Red-billed Ground-cuckoo, Neomorphus pucheranii

Subfamily Centropodinae

Coucals.

Genus Centropus (some 30 species)

Subfamily Crotophaginae

Anis.

Genus Crotophaga - true anis (3 species)

Genus Guira - Guira CuckooFurther Information

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