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Australian Wildlife

  Brush Cuckoo (Cacomantis variolosus)





Brush Cuckoo | Cacomantis variolosus photo
Brush Cuckoo (Cacomantis variolosus) Kobble Creek, SE Queensland, Australia

Image by Aviceda - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Brush Cuckoo | Cacomantis variolosus photo
Brush Cuckoo (Cacomantis variolosus) Juvenile, Kobble Creek, SE Queensland, Australia

Image by Aviceda - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)







BRUSH CUCKOO FACTS

Description
The Brush Cuckoo is a fairly small cuckoo. Adults are brownish grey above with pale reddish brown underside. It has grey eye ring and the tail is white tipped, but not edged with white marks like some other cuckoo species. Young birds are brown above barred with lighter brown, and white below, barred with brown. Adults are similar to the adult Fan-tailed Cuckoo which is larger, darker grey above, and has yellow eye ring and white barred tail.

Size
22cm

Habitat
found in range of habitats including rainforest, wet forest, dry forest, open woodland

Food
insects and caterpillars

Breeding
lays its eggs in nests of other species of birds. Often uses the nest of a flycatcher as host. The cuckoo chick pushes other eggs and chicks out of the nest. To get the undivided attention of the host.

distribution map showing range of Cacomantis variolosus in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.



Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Cuculiformes
Family:Cuculidae
Genus:Cacomantis
Species:variolosus
Common Name:Brush Cuckoo

Relatives in same Genus
  Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo (C. castaneiventris)
  Fan-tailed Cuckoo (C. flabelliformis)