- Chrysococcyx lucidus
Identification
Straight, pointed beaks and feet with two toes facing forwards and two toes facing backwards. They call with a high-pitched whistle. Bronze-green above with a brownish head. The face and underparts are white with bronze-brown bars.
Distribution
Eastern and south-western Australia, Indonesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.
Taxonomy
Subspecies[1]
- C.l.harterti Solomon Islands (Rennell and Bellona)
- C.l.layardi (aeneus) New Caledonia, Loyalty Is., Vanuatu, Banks and Santa Cruz is.
- C.l.lucidus Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand; winters to n Melanesia
Habitat
Treetops in rainforests and thick eucalypt forests.
Behaviour
The diet includes caterpillars, beetles, flies and ants.
They lay their eggs in the nests of other birds such as thornbills, wrens, flycatchers and honeyeaters. The female lays up to 16 long, pale green to brown eggs. The eggs are laid one at a time in the nests of 16 other birds.
References
- Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
