Cuculidae: Cuckoos
Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo. © Dubi Shapiro
Cuckoos are a large, diverse, mostly tropical family, with a few prominent representatives that breed in the temperate and subarctic zones. The family is named for the signature call of its most widespread species, the Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), whose reproduction strategy of depositing its eggs in the nests of other species and thereby imposing its parental burdens on them, inspired the English word “cuckold.” Nearly half of the world’s cuckoo species are believed to reproduce exclusively in this parasitic fashion, and a smaller number—including the Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) of North America—are known to build nests and raise their own young but also parasitize others opportunistically.
The astonishing diversity of the Cuculidae extends from primeval-looking contemporary dinosaurs such as the anis, coucals, and ground-cuckoos to the elegant, songbird-like bronze and emerald cuckoos, and also includes mimics such as the hawk-cuckoos, outright oddities such as the malkohas, as well as avian “normals” such as the aforementioned Common and Yellow-billed Cuckoos.
Taxonomy
As currently understood, the Cuculidae comprise six ancient lineages now recognized as subfamilies:
Crotophaginae: Anis (4 species)
Neomorphinae: Ground-cuckoos (11 species)
Centropodinae: Coucals (28 to 30 species)
Phaenicophilinae: Malkohas and couas (26 or 27 species, plus one recently extinct)
Coccyzinae: American cuckoos (18 to 22 species)
Cuculinae: Old world cuckoos (61 to 69 species, plus one recently extinct)
The family therefore consists of somewhere between 148 and 163 species (plus 2 recently extinct).
Guira Cuckoo (Guira guira)
Greater Ani (Crotophaga major)
Smooth-billed Ani (Crotophaga ani)
Groove-billed Ani (Crotophaga sulcirostris)
Striped Cuckoo (Tapera naevia)
Pheasant Cuckoo (Dromococcyx phasianellus)
Pavonine Cuckoo (Dromococcyx pavoninus)
Lesser Ground-Cuckoo (Morococcyx erythropygus)
Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus)
Lesser Roadrunner (Geococcyx velox)
Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo (Neomorphus geoffroyi)
Scaled Ground-Cuckoo (Neomorphus squamiger)
Banded Ground-Cuckoo (Neomorphus radiolosus)
Rufous-winged Ground-Cuckoo (Neomorphus rufipennis)
Red-billed Ground-Cuckoo (Neomorphus pucheranii)
Buff-headed Coucal (Centropus milo)
White-necked Coucal (Centropus ateralbus)
Ivory-billed Coucal (Centropus menbeki)
Biak Coucal (Centropus chalybeus)
Rufous Coucal (Centropus unirufus)
Green-billed Coucal (Centropus chlororhynchos)
Black-faced Coucal (Centropus melanops)
Black-hooded Coucal (Centropus steerii)
Short-toed Coucal (Centropus rectunguis)
Bay Coucal (Centropus celebensis)
Gabon Coucal (Centropus anselli)
Black-throated Coucal (Centropus leucogaster)
Senegal Coucal (Centropus senegalensis)
Blue-headed Coucal (Centropus monachus)
Coppery-tailed Coucal (Centropus cupreicaudus)
White-browed Coucal (Centropus superciliosus)
Burchell’s Coucal (Centropus burchellii)
Sunda Coucal (Centropus nigrorufus)
Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis)
“Greater Coucal” (C. s. sinensis)
“Southern Coucal” (C. s. parroti)
Malagassy Coucal (Centropus toulou)
Goliath Coucal (Centropus goliath)
Black Coucal (Centropus grillii)
Philippine Coucal (Centropus viridis)
Lesser Coucal (Centropus bengalensis)
Violaceous Coucal (Centropus violaceus)
Black-billed Coucal (Centropus bernsteini)
Pheasant Coucal (Centropus phasianinus)
“Pheasant Coucal” (C. p. phasianinus)
“Kai Coucal” (C. p. spilopterus)
Andaman Coucal (Centropus andamanensis)
Bornean Ground-Cuckoo (Carpococcyx radiceus)
Sumatran Ground-Cuckoo (Carpococcyx viridis)
Coral-billed Ground-Cuckoo (Carpococcyx renauldi)
Snail-eating Coua (Coua delalandei) †
Crested Coua (Coua cristata)
Verreaux’s Coua (Coua verreauxi)
Blue Coua (Coua caerulea)
Red-capped Coua (Coua ruficeps)
“Red-capped Coua” (C. r. ruficeps)
“Green-capped Coua” (C. r. olivaceiceps)
Red-fronted Coua (Coua reynaudii)
Coquerel’s Coua (Coua coquereli)
Running Coua (Coua cursor)
Giant Coua (Coua gigas)
Red-breasted Coua (Coua serriana)
Raffles’s Malkoha (Rhinortha chlorophaea)
Blue Malkoha (Ceuthmochares aereus)
Green Malkoha (Ceuthmochares australis)
Sirkeer Malkoha (Taccocua leschenaultii)
Red-billed Malkoha (Zanclostomus javanicus)
Yellow-billed Malkoha (Rhamphococcyx calyorhynchus)
Chestnut-breasted Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus curvirostris)
Red-faced Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus pyrrhocephalus)
Chestnut-bellied Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus sumatranus)
Blue-faced Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus viridirostris)
Black-bellied Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus diardi)
Green-billed Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus tristis)
Rough-crested Malkoha (Dasylophus superciliosus)
Scale-feathered Malkoha (Dasylophus cumingi)
Little Cuckoo (Coccycua minuta)
Dwarf Cuckoo (Coccycua pumila)
Ash-colored Cuckoo (Coccycua cinerea)
Squirrel Cuckoo (Piaya cayana)
“West Mexican Squirrel Cuckoo” (P. c. mexicana)
“Middle American Squirrel Cuckoo” (P. c. thermophila)
“Black-vented Squirrel Cuckoo” (P. c. nigricrissa)
“Brazilian Squirrel Cuckoo” (P. c. cayana)
Black-bellied Cuckoo (Piaya melanogaster)
Dark-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus melacoryphus)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus)
Pearly-breasted Cuckoo (Coccyzus euleri)
Mangrove Cuckoo (Coccyzus minor)
Cocos Cuckoo (Coccyzus ferrugineus)
Black-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus)
Gray-capped Cuckoo (Coccyzus lansbergi)
Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo (Coccyzus pluvialis)
Bay-breasted Cuckoo (Coccyzus rufigularis)
Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo (Coccyzus vetula)
Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo (Coccyzus vieilloti)
Great Lizard-Cuckoo (Coccyzus merlini)
“Cuban Lizard-Cuckoo” (C. m. merlini)
“Bahama Lizard-Cuckoo” (C. m. bahamensis)
Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo (Coccyzus longirostris)
Chestnut-winged Cuckoo (Clamator coromandus)
Great Spotted Cuckoo (Clamator glandarius)
Levaillant’s Cuckoo (Clamator levaillantii)
Jacobin Cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus)
Thick-billed Cuckoo (Pachycoccyx audeberti)
“African Thick-billed Cuckoo” (P. a. brazzae)
“Malagassy Thick-billed Cuckoo” (P. a. audeberti)
Dwarf Koel (Microdynamis parva)
Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus)
Black-billed Koel (Eudynamys melanorhynchus)
Pacific Koel (Eudynamys orientalis)
Australian Koel (Eudynamys cyanocephalus)
Long-tailed Koel (Urodynamis taitensis)
Channel-billed Cuckoo (Scythrops novaehollandiae)
Asian Emerald Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx maculatus)
Violet Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx xanthorhynchus)
Dideric Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx caprius)
Klaas’s Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx klaas)
Yellow-throated Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx flavigularis)
African Emerald Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx cupreus)
“African Emerald Cuckoo” (C. c. cupreus)
“Bioko Emerald Cuckoo” (C. c. intermedius)
“Insular Emerald Cuckoo” (C. c. insularum)
Long-billed Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx megarhynchus)
Horsfield’s Bronze Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx basalis)
Black-eared Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx osculans)
Rufous-throated Bronze Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx ruficollis)
Shining Bronze Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx lucidus)
“Solomon Islands Bronze Cuckoo” (C. l. harterti)
“New Caledonian Bronze Cuckoo” (C. l. layardi)
“Golden Bronze Cuckoo” (C. l. lucidus)
“Shining Bronze Cuckoo” (C. l. plagosus)
White-eared Bronze Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx meyerii)
Little Bronze Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx minutillus)
Pallid Cuckoo (Cacomantis pallidus)
White-crowned Cuckoo (Cacomantis leucolophus)
Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo (Cacomantis castaneiventris)
Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis)
Banded Bay Cuckoo (Cacomantis sonneratii)
Plaintive Cuckoo (Cacomantis merulinus)
Gray-bellied Cuckoo (Cacomantis passerinus)
Brush Cuckoo (Cacomantis variolosus)
Rusty-breasted Cuckoo (Cacomantis sepulcralis)
Moluccan Cuckoo (Cacomantis aeruginosus)
Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo (Cercococcyx mechowi)
Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo (Cercococcyx olivinus)
Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo (Cercococcyx montanus)
“Njobo’s Long-tailed Cuckoo” (C. m. montanus)
“Eastern Long-tailed Cuckoo” (C. m. patulus)
Philippine Drongo-Cuckoo (Surniculus velutinus)
Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo (Surniculus lugubris)
Fork-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo (Surniculus dicruroides)
Moluccan Drongo-Cuckoo (Surniculus musschenbroeki)
Moustached Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx vagans)
Large Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx sparverioides)
Dark Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx bocki)
Common Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius)
Rufous Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx hyperythrus)
Philippine Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx pectoralis)
Malaysian Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx fugax)
Hodgson’s Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx nisicolor)
Black Cuckoo (Cuculus clamosus)
“Rufous-throated Cuckoo” (C. c. gabonensis)
“Black Cuckoo” (C. c. clamosus)
Red-chested Cuckoo (Cuculus solitarius)
Lesser Cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus)
Sulawesi Cuckoo (Cuculus crassirostris)
Indian Cuckoo (Cuculus micropterus)
Madagascan Cuckoo (Cuculus rochii)
African Cuckoo (Cuculus gularis)
Himalayan Cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus)
Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus)
Sunda Cuckoo (Cuculus lepidus)
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)
St. Helena Cuckoo (Nannococcyx psix) †
References
Erritzøe, J., C.F. Mann, F.P. Brammer, and R.A. Fuller. 2012. Cuckoos of the World. Christopher Helm, London.
Hume, J.P. 2017. Extinct Birds (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, London.
Roberson, D. 2016. Bird Families of the World: Cuckoos & Allies: Cuculidae, http://creagrus.home.montereybay.com/cuckoos.html. (Posted April 28, 2016. Accessed August 28, 2019.)