Amber cuckoo
| Amber cuckoo | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Centropus amberi | ||||||||||||
| Schlegel , 1866 |
The amber cuckoo ( Centropus bernsteini ) is a species of bird in the genus of the spur cuckoo ( Centropus ) within the cuckoo family . It occurs in New Guinea and Manam . The type epithet honors the German naturalist Heinrich Agathon Bernstein , who collected the type specimen on the Vogelkopf peninsula .
features
The amber cuckoo reaches a body length of 460 to 520 mm, a wing length of 164 to 200 mm, a tail length of 220 to 277 mm, a beak length of 27 to 35 mm, a length of the large rear toe claw of 21 to 26 mm and a barrel length of 38 up to 44 mm. The weight is 130 to 160 grams. The sexes look the same. The plumage is predominantly black with black shaft stripes. The top has a greenish sheen, the wings, the under wing-coverts, the beak, the legs, the feet and the short tail are black. The iris is dark brown. Juvenile birds are banded yellow-brown or reddish brown on top. The wings and tail have narrow yellow-brown to light reddish-brown bands. The tail feathers are narrow. The throat is whitish on the midline. The neck and chest are marked maroon on the sides. The middle of the abdomen is gray with black bands, the rest of the underside is black-brown with narrow light bands. In the chicks the growing feathers on the face have white tips. In contrast to other spur cuckoo species, there is no long, pointed, hair-like down.
Vocalizations
The call consists of a woop woop woop on a descending scale. Sometimes the tones are reproduced in longer rows. The couples can often be heard in a duet, with one partner uttering a hui and the other responding with a whui . The call is weaker than that of the black cuckoo ( Centropus menbeki ) and shorter than that of the pheasant spurred cuckoo ( Centropus phasianinus ).
distribution and habitat
The amber cuckoo occurs in western and central New Guinea as well as on the island of Manam . In New Guinea, the range extends from the western Vogelkopf Peninsula , north along the Taritatu (Idenburg Rivers) and Yos Sudarso Bay, east along the coast to the Sepik River and along the coast to the Huon Peninsula , Lae and Bulolo , in the south to the Mikima River, in the west to the Setikwa River as well as to the Fly River and the lower Turama River near Kikori in the east. The distribution areas of the amber cuckoo and the pheasant spur cuckoo are allopatric . The amber cuckoo lives in habitats with tall grass, climbing plants and forest edges along rivers and lakes from sea level to altitudes between 500 and 900 m. The IUCN does not consider the amber cuckoo to be endangered.
Way of life
The diet consists of small lizards, small snakes, insects and butterflies. In New Guinea, the breeding season is stretched. A nest with eggs was found on the Idenburg River in May, and a juvenile bird with a short tail was discovered in December. In Kaku, a female was seen laying eggs in November. On the Mimika River, a female had enlarged ovaries in August. The Sepik River residents reported breeding birds in July. Brooding males sometimes have two enlarged testicles. The dome-shaped nest is built in tall grass and lined with grass, it has an irregular, messy opening on the side. One nest found had an outer circumference of 21 × 38 centimeters and an inner circumference of 15 × 25 centimeters. The clutch consists of two white eggs measuring 32 × 25.5 mm. The breeding period and the nestling period are not known.
literature
- Payne, RB (2005): The Cuckoos. Bird Families of the World. Volume 15. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-850213-3
- Del Hoyo, J., Elliot, A. & Sargatal, J. (Editors) (1997): Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 4: Sandgrouse to Cuckoos. Lynx Edicions. ISBN 84-87334-22-9
Individual evidence
- ↑ Centropus bernsteini in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2012. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2012. Accessed October 31, 2012th