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Difference between revisions of "Thick-billed Cuckoo" - BirdForum Opus

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;[[: Category:Pachycoccyx|Pachycoccyx]] audeberti
 
;[[: Category:Pachycoccyx|Pachycoccyx]] audeberti
 
==Identification==
 
==Identification==
36 cm. Grey above, lores white, wings blackish, tail barred brown and black, white below, eye ring yellow, iris brown. Bill blackish or yellow.
+
36cm.
 +
* Grey above (brownish in worn plumage)
 +
* White lores
 +
* Narrow yellow eye-ring
 +
* Blackish wings
 +
* Tail barred brown and black
 +
* White underparts
 +
* Blackish bill, sometimes with yellow-green lower mandible or even all yellow
 +
* brazzae is smaller, blacker above and lacks the white on lores
 +
Sexes similar. Juveniles are dark brown above with broad white spots on back and wing, their face is black and white.
 
==Distribution==
 
==Distribution==
[[Sierra Leone]] through [[Ghana]], [[Nigeria]], and [[Cameroon]] to [[Congo]] and [[Zaire]], [[Kenya]] and [[Tanzania]], [[Zambia]], [[Zimbabwe]], and [[Mozambique]].  
+
Patchily distributed in [[Africa]] south of th Sahara.<br />
 
+
Uncommon to rare in its range.
 
==Taxonomy==
 
==Taxonomy==
Three subspecies are recognized, ''audeberti'', ''brazzae'', and ''validus''. It is monotypic within the genus ''Pachycoccyx''.
+
Three subspecies recognized:
 +
* ''P. a. brazzae'' from [[Sierra Leone]] patchily distributed through [[Ghana]], [[Nigeria]] and [[Cameroon]] to the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
 +
* ''P. a. validus'' from eastern [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] to southeast [[Kenya]] and [[Tanzania]] and south through [[Malawi]] to [[Zambia]], [[Zimbabwe]], [[Mozambique]] and eastern [[South Africa]]
 +
* ''P. a. audeberti'' in [[Madagascar]]
 
==Habitat==
 
==Habitat==
Woodlands, lowlands, and riverine forests.
+
Woodlands, lowlands, and riverine forests. A characteristic bird or rich miombo woodland.
 
==Behaviour==
 
==Behaviour==
The diet includes insects, mainly hairy caterpillars.
+
====Diet====
 
+
Feeds on insects, mainly hairy caterpillars.
 
+
====Breeding====
Brood parasitic; hosts are Helmetshrikes (''[[:Category:Prionops|Prionops]]''). Incubation 13 days, nestlings evict host eggs and chicks. Fledges in 28 days.
+
A brood parasitic; hosts are Helmetshrikes (''[[:Category:Prionops|Prionops]]''), mainly [[Red-billed Helmetshrike]]. Hosts in [[Madagascar]] are unknown, but [[Chabert Vanga]] is suspected.<br />
 
+
Breeding season from September to March in Zimbabwe. Incubation 13 days, nestlings evict host eggs and chicks. Fledges in 28 days.
 +
====Movements====
 +
A sedentary species with some local seasonal movements.
 +
==References==
 +
#{{Ref-Clements6thOct12}}#{{Ref-HBWVol4}}
 +
{{ref}}
 
==External Links==
 
==External Links==
 
{{GSearch|Pachycoccyx+audeberti}}
 
{{GSearch|Pachycoccyx+audeberti}}

Latest revision as of 12:54, 16 July 2013

Photo by megan perkins
Mole National Park, Ghana, February 2011
Pachycoccyx audeberti

Identification

36cm.

  • Grey above (brownish in worn plumage)
  • White lores
  • Narrow yellow eye-ring
  • Blackish wings
  • Tail barred brown and black
  • White underparts
  • Blackish bill, sometimes with yellow-green lower mandible or even all yellow
  • brazzae is smaller, blacker above and lacks the white on lores

Sexes similar. Juveniles are dark brown above with broad white spots on back and wing, their face is black and white.

Distribution

Patchily distributed in Africa south of th Sahara.
Uncommon to rare in its range.

Taxonomy

Three subspecies recognized:

Habitat

Woodlands, lowlands, and riverine forests. A characteristic bird or rich miombo woodland.

Behaviour

Diet

Feeds on insects, mainly hairy caterpillars.

Breeding

A brood parasitic; hosts are Helmetshrikes (Prionops), mainly Red-billed Helmetshrike. Hosts in Madagascar are unknown, but Chabert Vanga is suspected.
Breeding season from September to March in Zimbabwe. Incubation 13 days, nestlings evict host eggs and chicks. Fledges in 28 days.

Movements

A sedentary species with some local seasonal movements.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2012. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2012. 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 J Sargatal, eds. 1997. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 4: Sandgrouse to Cuckoos. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334221

Recommended Citation

External Links

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