Pale cuckoo
| Pale cuckoo | ||||||||||
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Pale cuckoo |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||
| Heteroscenes | ||||||||||
| Cabanis & Heine , 1863 | ||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||
| Heteroscenes pallidus | ||||||||||
| ( Latham , 1801) |
The pale cuckoo ( Heteroscenes pallidus , syn .: Cacomantis pallidus , Cuculus pallidus ) belongs to the order of the cuckoo birds (Cuculiformes) and to the family of the cuckoos (Cuculidae). Like numerous species of cuckoo birds, the pale cuckoo is an obligatory brood parasite . It mostly parasitizes honey-eaters .
The distribution area of the pale cuckoo is very large. Its breeding area extends over Australia and Tasmania. Outside the breeding season, individuals can also be found in New Guinea and the Moluccas. No subspecies are described and the pale cuckoo is the only member of the genus Heteroscenes . However, a distinction is made between a light and a dark color morph . The IUCN classifies the species as not endangered ( least concern ).
Systematics
The black cuckoo is occasionally assigned to the genera Cuculus or Cacomantis . Sources like the Handbook of the Birds of the World or scientists like Bruce Beehler now place the species in its own genus. On the basis of mtDNA analyzes it is certain that the pale cuckoo is an intermediate form between these two genera that is most closely related to the monotypical white- crowned koel ( Caliechthrus leucolophus ).
In addition to the round nostrils, the generic features include the dark eye line, the lack of color markings on the breast plumage and the cross-banded under tail cover.
features
Body measurements and physique
The black cuckoo cuckoo reaches a body length of 31 centimeters. It is therefore a medium-sized cuckoo. The beak is slightly curved, the head is comparatively small in relation to the body. The wings are long and pointed. The tail plumage is long and slightly rounded at the end. As with several species of Old World Cuckoo, its physique is vaguely reminiscent of a small hawk. It is a little smaller than the hoppy cuckoo , which also occurs in Australia , but a little larger than the fan-tailed cuckoo .
The tail plumage accounts for an average of 16 centimeters of the body length. The wings are an average of 19.3 inches long in the males. The females are slightly shorter with an average of 19.1 centimeters. The beak is on average 2.6 inches long. They weigh between 64 and 118 grams.
The iris is dark to medium brown and often has a white or yellow outer ring. The orbital ring is yellow, the beak is matt black to black-brown with a slightly lighter beak base. The beak sheaths as well as the beak tip are whitish, the inside of the beak in the adult birds is yellow to pale orange. Young birds, on the other hand, have whitish to whitish-pink beak inside. The legs and feet are olive to dull yellow.
male
The males of the light colored morphs have a blue-gray head, a blue-gray coat and a blue-gray neck. However, there is also a white spot on the neck, which can only be seen when the wind blows the plumage apart. A dark gray line of eyes runs over the eye, which in some individuals also continues on the sides of the neck. The rest of the top of the body is dark gray to gray-brown, the rump is spotted white. The wing feathers and the wing coverts are colored like the top of the body, but have very narrow white seams. The underside of the body is pale gray, the tail plumage is dark brown. All control springs except for the middle control spring pair are spotted white.
In the males of the dark amorphous color, the upper side of the body is darker and brown, the neck is brownish. The wings have fine white spots.
female
In the females of the dark color morph, the vertex and the neck are black-brown with reddish-brown dashes and a white spot on the neck. The eye line is whitish and black-brown. The feathers of the mantle are dark brown with red-brown hems. The rest of the upper surface of the body is pale blue with white, brownish and reddish brown spots. The wings are dark brown with reddish brown and pale blue spots. The underside of the body is pale gray with a fine pale blue spot on the breast plumage and a blue-gray transverse banding on the flanks and the under tail-coverts. The control feathers are spotted white or cross-banded with whitish tones.
The females of the light colored morphs resemble in their plumage an intermediate form between the males of the light colored morphs and the females of the dark colored morphs.
Fledglings
Young birds differ noticeably from the adult birds. Their forehead, reins , chin and throat are dark gray, which makes the face appear very dark overall. In some individuals, the throat has white streaking. The crown, the nape and the back of the neck are dashed black-brown and white. A conspicuous white stripe above the eyes runs from above the eye and the ear covers to the sides of the neck. An equally noticeable black eye line runs along the sides of the neck to the sides of the upper chest. They also have a whitish line of beard. The rump is dashed dark brown and whitish or light brownish. The upper tail coverts are dark brown with a fine white training. The tail plumage is dark brown on top with showy white and pale light brown spots on the outside of the tail feathers. The front breast is dark brown with whitish dashes, the rest of the underside of the body is whitish with gray-brown dashes. The beak is gray with whitish beak sheaths and a whitish beak tip. The orbital ring is pale yellow. The iris is brown. The legs and feet are pale pink.
distribution
The black cuckoo is found in Australia and the Wallacea . The main distribution area is Australia including Tasmania. The Wallacea is considered to be a wintering area that is only visited by a few white cuckoos. However, it is believed possible that there are small breeding populations on Timor and New Guinea as well. It can be found almost everywhere on the Australian continent, although the population density is slightly lower in the north. The highest population density is found in the south of Australia, that is, in the states of Victoria , New South Wales and in the southwest of Western Australia .
The wandering movements of the pale cuckoo are not yet fully understood. According to the current state of knowledge, pale cuckoos move during the night. Presumably the northern Australian populations are resident birds, which is supported by the fact that eggs and juveniles of this cuckoo species were found in the more northern Australian regions in all months up to April. The southern populations, on the other hand, are partial migrants , with very few pale cuckoos hibernating in Tasmania. Most of them winter in northern Australia. Some of the pale cuckoos then also reach the northwest and south of New Guinea, Ternate , Halmahera , Flores , the Babar Islands and Timor.
The bass cuckoo has also been seen as a rare stray visitor on New Zealand, on Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, Christmas Island and Macquarie Island .
habitat
The black cuckoo occurs predominantly in open forest and bush landscapes. He particularly prefers those areas that have only a small amount of undergrowth. Its habitats are often dominated by eucalyptus and trees of the genus Acacia . Along streams and other wetlands, it is more common in red eucalyptus groves . It also colonizes the Mallee , an Australian form of vegetation dominated by eucalyptus bushes two to ten meters high.
The black cuckoo can also be found on pastures and along roads if they still have residual trees. It also populates gardens and parks, especially in the suburbs, tree-lined savannahs, shrubbery landscapes on the coast, pine plantations, vineyards and fruit-growing areas, mangroves and even deserts, provided they still have individual trees and shrubs. It is least common in the rainforest.
Way of life
The pale cuckoo lives mostly solitary. Its calls can be heard frequently during the breeding season. He then often calls out from exposed singing stations. Outside of the breeding season, the pale cuckoo is much less happy to call and therefore less conspicuous. The flight is fast and straight: its flight silhouette is comparatively striking due to the comparatively small head and the long, tapering wings and the long, rounded tail. Landing cuckoos usually raise and lower their tail plumage. When the pale cuckoo is at rest, the wings usually hang down slightly. Cuckoos often seek out dead trees to rest. They often grow on wires or on fences.
The black cuckoo looks for food mainly in the foliage of trees and on the ground. Outside the breeding season, the pale cuckoo is occasionally associated with other bird species.
The diet consists mainly of hairy caterpillars as well as beetles, grasshoppers and butterflies, spiders, earthworms and mistletoe berries.
Reproduction
Mutual feeding is part of the courtship of the black cuckoo. For example, the female takes food out of the male's beak and trembles slightly all over her body. The wings are half open and hang down slightly.
The pale cuckoo is an obligatory breeding parasite, which means that it does not raise its offspring itself, but the female lays an egg in the nests of host birds. A total of 113 host bird species have been identified for the black cuckoo, almost half of which are so-called honey - eaters . Usually the host bird's egg resembles the egg that the white cuckoo lays. In those cases in which the females lay their eggs in nests of bird species with significantly different eggs, the nest is usually abandoned by the host birds or the egg is removed.
Similar to the avifauna of Central Europe counting cuckoo from the female of the Pale cuckoo laying eggs an egg from the nest of the host bird. The newly hatched cuckoo nestling removes the other eggs and young birds in the nest within the first 48 hours after hatching or tramples weaker siblings to death. The cuckoo nestling's begging call is loud and persistent and triggers a strong feeding stimulus in the host birds. There have been several observations that pale cuckoos occasionally feed their young birds growing up in a foreign nest with mistletoe berries and caterpillars. It has also been reported that fledgling pale cuckoo pups visit other birds' nests to be fed. Occasionally they take full advantage of the nest by throwing out the young birds in the nest.
The breeding success is comparatively low: Around 32 nestlings hatch out of 100 pale cuckoo eggs, but only 13 to 14 of them fledge.
literature
- Bruce M. Beehler, Thane K. Pratt: Birds of New Guinea: Distribution, Taxonomy, and Systematics Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey 2016, ISBN 978-0-691-16424-3 .
- NB Davies: Cuckoos, Cowbirds and Other Cheats . T & AD Poyser, London 2000, ISBN 0-85661-135-2 .
- PJ Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds: Volume 4 Parrots to Dollarbird . Oxford University Press, Melbourne 1999, ISBN 0-19-553071-3 .
- Johannes Erhitzøe, Clive F. Mann, Frederik P. Brammer, Richard A. Fuller: Cuckoos of the World . Christopher Helm, London 2012, ISBN 978-0-7136-6034-0 .
Web links
Single receipts
- ↑ Handbook of the Birds of the World zum Blasskuckuck , accessed November 25, 2017.
- ↑ a b B. M. Beehler, TK Pratt: Birds of New Guinea. 2016, p. 143.
- ↑ J. Erhitzøe et al: Cuckoos of the World. 2012, p. 384.
- ^ PJ Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds. Volume 4: Parrots to Dollarbird. 1999, p. 662.
- ↑ a b c d J. Erhitzøe et al: Cuckoos of the World. 2012, p. 385.
- ↑ a b c d e P. J. Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds. Volume 4: Parrots to Dollarbird. 1999, p. 663.
- ↑ a b c P. J. Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds. Volume 4: Parrots to Dollarbird. 1999, p. 664.
- ↑ a b c J. Erhitzøe et al: Cuckoos of the World. 2012, p. 386.
- ↑ a b P. J. Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds. Volume 4: Parrots to Dollarbird. 1999, p. 667.