Diederik cuckoo

Last updated

Diederik cuckoo
Chrysococcyx caprius, a, Johann Grobbelaar.jpg
Calls recorded in southwestern Kenya
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Cuculiformes
Family: Cuculidae
Genus: Chrysococcyx
Species:
C. caprius
Binomial name
Chrysococcyx caprius
(Boddaert, 1783)
Diederik cuckoo - female Chrysococcyx caprius00.jpg
Diederik cuckoo – female

The diederik cuckoo (Chrysococcyx caprius), formerly dideric cuckoo or didric cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo family of birds, Cuculidae, which also includes the roadrunners and the anis.

Contents

Taxonomy

The diederik cuckoo was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen collected in the Cape of Good Hope region of South Africa. [2] The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. [3] Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Cuculus caprius in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. [4] The diederik cuckoo is now placed in the genus Chrysococcyx that was erected by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1826. [5] [6] The species is monotypic. [6]

The generic name Chrysococcyx combines the Ancient Greek khrusos meaning "gold" and kokkux meaning "cuckoo". The specific epithet caprius is from the Latin cupreus meaning "coppery". [7] The common name "diederik" is from Afrikaans "diedrik", an onomatopoeic rendition of the bird's call. [8]

Description

At Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa Diederik cuckoo, Chrysococcyx caprius (male), at Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa (23525617212).jpg
At Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa

The diederik cuckoo is a smallish cuckoo at 18 to 20 cm. Adult males are glossy green above with copper-sheened areas on the back and whitish underparts. They have a broken white eye-stripe and a short, green malar stripe. All remiges have three to four white spots on the inner vanes. The four green outer tail feathers are tipped white, and the outermost pair are spotted white on both vanes.

Females show more copper above, and have coppery barring on the flanks. The underparts are often washed brownish.

Juveniles have a red bill, streaky throat and a white wing-bar. They are more copper-coloured above and browner below than the females, and the flank markings are brown blotches.

Behaviour

Breeding

The diederik cuckoo is a brood parasite. [9] It lays a single egg mostly in the nests of weavers, especially the village weaver and the bishops in the genus Euplectes . For example, it has been recorded in red-collared widowbirds.

Feeding

The diederik cuckoo takes a variety of insects and insect larvae. It is a noisy species, with the persistent and loud deed-deed-deed-deed-er-ick call from which it gets its name. Usually four clear, roughly identical, notes followed by a little twitter.

Distribution and habitat

It is a common resident breeder in Sub-Saharan Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. It has been recorded as far north as Cyprus (1982 & 2023). It is a short-distance seasonal migrant, moving with the rains. It is a solitary bird, found in open woodland, savanna and riverside bushes.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common green magpie</span> Species of bird

The common green magpie is a member of the crow family, roughly about the size of the Eurasian jay or slightly smaller. In the wild specimens are usually a bright and lush green in colour, slightly lighter on the underside and has a thick black stripe from the bill to the nape. Compared to the other members of its genus, the white-tipped tail is quite long. This all contrasts vividly with the red fleshy eye rims, bill and legs. The wings are reddish maroon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-headed lapwing</span> Species of bird

The black-headed lapwing or black-headed plover is a large lapwing, a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. It is a resident breeder across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia, although it has seasonal movements. It lays two or three eggs on a ground scrape.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western plantain-eater</span> Species of bird

The western plantain-eater, also known as the gray plantain-eater or western gray plantain-eater, is a large member of the turaco family, a group of large arboreal near-passerine birds restricted to Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-naped woodpecker</span> Species of bird

The white-naped woodpecker is woodpecker which is a widespread but a scarce breeder in the Indian Subcontinent. It is associated with open forest and scrub with some trees. It nests in a tree hole, laying one or two white eggs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tufted coquette</span> Species of bird

The tufted coquette is a tiny hummingbird that breeds in eastern Venezuela, Trinidad, Guiana, and northern Brazil. It is an uncommon but widespread species, and appears to be a local or seasonal migrant, although its movements are not well understood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pied water tyrant</span> Species of bird

The pied water tyrant is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds in tropical South America from Panama and Trinidad south to Bolivia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great-billed parrot</span> Species of bird

The great-billed parrot also known as Moluccan parrot or island parrot, is a medium-sized, approximately 38 cm long, green parrot with a massive red bill, cream iris, blackish shoulders, olive green back, pale blue rump and yellowish green underparts. The female is typically smaller than the male, but otherwise the sexes are similar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater striped swallow</span> Species of bird

The greater striped swallow is a large swallow that is native to Africa south of the equator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buff-necked ibis</span> Species of bird

The buff-necked ibis, also known as the white-throated ibis, is a fairly large ibis found widely in open habitats of eastern and northern South America. It formerly included the similar black-faced ibis as a subspecies, but that species is almost entirely restricted to colder parts of South America, has a buff lower chest, and lacks the contrasting large white wing-patches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black nunbird</span> Species of bird

The black nunbird is a species of near-passerine bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luzon hornbill</span> Species of bird

The Luzon hornbill, sometimes called Luzon tarictic hornbill, is a species of hornbill in the family Bucerotidae. It is endemic to forests on Luzon and nearby islands in the northern Philippines. As is the case with all Philippine tarictic hornbills, it has been considered a subspecies of P. panini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violet-necked lory</span> Species of bird

The violet-necked lory is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is endemic to Indonesia, where it is found in the northern Maluku Islands and west Papuan islands. Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forests and tropical mangrove forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Variegated antpitta</span> Species of bird

The variegated antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is found in southeastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, the Guianas and the northern Amazon Basin. Its range extends to Venezuela in the northwest; in the Amazon Basin, it is found in the downstream half of the basin, as well as in the Atlantic outlet region of the neighboring Tocantins-Araguaia River drainage to the southeast. A minor disjunct population is in Peru, and an Argentinian population is found in the tongue of land between Paraguay and southern Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fulvous shrike-tanager</span> Species of bird

The fulvous shrike-tanager is a South American bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helmeted pygmy tyrant</span> Species of bird

The helmeted pygmy tyrant is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hooded tanager</span> Species of bird

The hooded tanager is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical mangrove forest, and heavily degraded former forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinereous becard</span> Species of bird

The cinereous becard is a species of bird in the family Tityridae. The term cinereous describes its colouration. It has traditionally been placed in Cotingidae or Tyrannidae, but evidence strongly suggest it is better placed in Tityridae, where it is now placed by the South American Classification Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rusty-collared seedeater</span> Species of bird

The rusty-collared seedeater is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, formerly placed in the related Emberizidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olive woodpecker</span> Species of bird

The olive woodpecker is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine magpie-robin</span> Species of bird

The Philippine magpie-robin is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to the Philippines. It used to be considered a subspecies of the Oriental magpie-robin.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Chrysococcyx caprius". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22684026A93011786. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22684026A93011786.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc de (1780). "Le coucou vert-doré et blanc". Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux (in French). Vol. 12. Paris: De L'Imprimerie Royale. pp. 42–44.
  3. Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc de; Martinet, François-Nicolas; Daubenton, Edme-Louis; Daubenton, Louis-Jean-Marie (1765–1783). "Coucou verde, du Cap du bonne-Esperance". Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle. Vol. 7. Paris: De L'Imprimerie Royale. Plate 657.
  4. Boddaert, Pieter (1783). Table des planches enluminéez d'histoire naturelle de M. D'Aubenton : avec les denominations de M.M. de Buffon, Brisson, Edwards, Linnaeus et Latham, precedé d'une notice des principaux ouvrages zoologiques enluminés (in French). Utrecht. p. 40, Number 657.
  5. Boie, Friedrich (1826). "Generalübersicht der ornithologischen Ordnungen, Familien und Gattungen". Isis von Oken (in German). 19. Cols 969–981 [977].
  6. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Turacos, bustards, cuckoos, mesites, sandgrouse". World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  7. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp.  90, 105. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  8. "didric". Merriam Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  9. Davies, N. B. (2015). Cuckoo : cheating by nature. New York, NY: Bloomsbury USA, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. pp. 127–130. ISBN   978-1620409527.

Further reading