Ground Cuckooshrike

Photo by stoop
Eastern Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia, July 2008

Alternative names: Greybird; Caterpillar-catcher

Coracina maxima

Identification

31-38cm. A large, slender, long-legged and distinctive Cuckoo-shrike.

• Grey head, nape, mantle and breast with darker around the eye and on ear-coverts
• White back and uppertail-coverts, barred black
• Black wing with greenish gloss, outer primaries edged white
• Black, long and slightly forked tail
• White lower breast and belly, barred black
• White undertail-coverts
• Buffy white eye
• Dark grey bill and legs

Sexes similar. Juveniles duller than adults, lightly barred dsky head to mantle, dark eye.

Distribution

Endemic to the interior of mainland Australia: found in New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia, Western Australia.
Widespread but uncommon in its range.

Taxonomy

Monotypic^[1], though Coracina maxima pallida is accepted by some authorities^[2]
Sometimes placed in its own genus Pteropodocys.

Habitat

Found in open, dry and lightly timbered country.

Behaviour

Feeds mainly insects and their larvae. Takes sometimes seeds and leaves, House Sparrow also recorded as prey.
Forages on the ground, walking and running with head jerking back and forth. Usually seen in small groups.
Breeding recorded in all months, mainly from August to January and after rains. Breeds communally, often with helpers. The nest is a cup placed 3- 15m above the ground on a horizontal branch, sometimes build on an old nests of Magpie-lark, White-winged Chough or Apostlebird. Lays 2-3 eggs.
A resident species in some areas, nomadic on others.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
2. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliot, and D Christie, eds. 2005. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 10: Cuckoo-Shrikes to Thrushes. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334726
3. Avibase

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Ground Cuckooshrike. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 15 January 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Ground_Cuckooshrike

External Links

Search for photos of Ground Cuckooshrike in the gallery

• View more images of this species on the ABID