Bronze cuckoo

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Bronze cuckoo
Bronze cuckoo (Chrysococcyx lucidus)

Bronze cuckoo ( Chrysococcyx lucidus )

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Cuckoo birds (Cuculiformes)
Family : Cuckoos (Cuculidae)
Genre : Real gold cuckoos ( Chrysococcyx )
Type : Bronze cuckoo
Scientific name
Chrysococcyx lucidus
( Gmelin , 1788)

The bronze cuckoo ( Chrysococcyx lucidus , Syn . : Chalcites lucidus ) is a species of cuckoo that occurs in the Australis . The species comprises four subspecies : C. l. lucidus , C. l. plagosus ( Latham , 1801), C. l. layardi ( Mathews , 1912) and C. l. harterti ( Mayr , 1932).

Like all species within the genus of the real gold cuckoo , the bronze cuckoo belongs to the obligatory brood parasites that lay their eggs exclusively in the nests of host birds.

features

The bronze cuckoo is a small cuckoo that is about 15-17 cm tall. They weigh about 20 grams. The male of the nominate form is glossy green-brown on the upper side, the underside is white with dark sparrowth . The sides of the face are whitish with individually variable dark spots or even sparrows.

The sexual dimorphism is not very pronounced, the female is less shiny green on the upper side, but rather brownish in color. The other subspecies differ in the different degrees of expression of their shiny brown plumage and different beak lengths and body sizes. Only the female of the subspecies C. l. harterti has a striking purple-shimmering head plumage. The iris is typically reddish brown, but can vary from light brown to yellow. In the young birds it is dark brown to pale gray. The eye ring is pale greenish to dark gray, in juvenile birds this is typically somewhat wider than in adult birds.

The most common call of the bronze cuckoo is repeatedly repeated su'wee , su'wee , su'wee calls. Johnsgard compares these calls to the whistles of a person trying to whistle a dog. These bronze cuckoo calls often end with a falling peee-eerr trill.

There are possibilities of confusion with several species from the genus of the real gold cuckoos. The red-tailed cuckoo is slightly smaller than the bronze cuckoo and this one has a noticeable light stripe above the eyes. The male of the small bronze cuckoo differs from the bronze cuckoo by his very noticeable red eyes. The female of this species has a brown iris with a yellowish or white eye ring. Both sexes are slightly more finely pitted on the white underside of the body. The iris of the male of the Gould cuckoo is also red, the breast of this species is reddish.

distribution

Young bronze cuckoo ( Chrysococcyx lucidus )
Adult bronze cuckoo
Bronze cuckoo

The nominate form C. l. lucidus breeds in New Zealand and winters in the Solomon Islands , New Britain and Woodlark Island . During the breeding season, C. l. plagosus can be found in Tasmania , all year round in the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland as well as along the Great Australian Bight to Perth . Another wintering area for this subspecies are the Lesser Sunda Islands and New Guinea . C. l. lucidus and C. l. plagosus are probably not distributed allopatric year-round , in the wintering areas in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands both subspecies are sometimes spotted at the same time. The other two subspecies do not migrate. The subspecies C. l. layardi occurs all year round in New Caledonia and on various islands of Vanuatus . C. l. harterti is an endemic subspecies of the islands of Rennell and Bellona . There are no population size estimates available, the species is not considered endangered due to the frequency and size of the distribution area. In New Zealand, the bronze cuckoo has benefited from the fact that its only host bird there, the Maori ygon , has adapted well to anthropogenically transformed habitats.

Way of life

The bronze cuckoo inhabits various habitats such as eucalyptus and pine forests , open grasslands, but also anthropogenic habitats such as parks and gardens . The diet consists of insects, preferably caterpillars, that are pecked by leaves. Most of the time people look for food in tree tops and bushes, the bronze cuckoo is rarely seen on the ground. Often insects are also caught in flight from a hide.

Like all other Chrysococcyx species, the bronze cuckoo is a brood parasite . The host birds include various Acanthiza , Gerygone and Sericornis species. The nominate form in New Zealand parasitizes almost exclusively the Maori ygon , on the Chatham Islands almost exclusively the long-beaked ygone .

The female of the bronze cuckoo lays her egg directly in the nest, she then takes one of the host bird eggs in her beak and then leaves the nest. The whole process takes less than 20 seconds. The young birds of the bronze cuckoo hatch out of the eggs earlier than is the case with the host bird species because of a shorter breeding season. The hatched nestlings are initially naked and blind, from the third day they begin to throw eggs and the nestlings of the host bird out of the nest. The nestling time of the bronze cuckoo lasts between 19 and 22 days, the host bird feeds the fledged bronze cuckoo for up to 22 days.

Fledgling young birds develop from about half of the eggs laid by the bronze cuckoo.

Etymology and history of research

Johann Friedrich Gmelin described the magnificent cuckoo under the protonym Cuculus lucidus . Only later was it added to the genus Chrysococcyx . Based on genetic studies, the species that occur in the Orientalis and Australis and that were previously counted among the real gold cuckoos are now listed by most authors in their own genus under the name Chalcites .

The name of the subspecies C. l. harterti honors the ornithologist Ernst Hartert . The Latin word »plagosus« is derived from »plagosus« from »plaga« for »stripes, welts«. The layardi was dedicated to the English diplomat and naturalist Edgar Leopold Layard (1824–1900).

literature

  • Johannes Erritzøe , Clive F. Mann, Frederik Brammer, Richard A. Fuller: Cuckoos of the World (Helm Identification Guides) . Christopher Helm Publishers Ltd, London 2012, ISBN 978-071-366-034-0 .
  • James A. Jobling: Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 .
  • Paul A. Johnsgard: The Avian Brood Parasites - Deception at the Nest . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1997, ISBN 0-19-511042-0 .
  • Johann Friedrich Gmelin: Systema naturae per regna tria naturae: secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis . tape 1 , no. 1 . : Impensis Georg. Emanuel. Beer, Leipzig 1788 ( online [accessed September 22, 2012]).
  • Ernst Mayr : Birds collected during the Whitney South Sea Expedition. 19, Notes on the bronze cuckoo Chalcites lucidus and its subspecies . In: American Museum Novitates . No. 520 , 1932 ( online [PDF; accessed on September 22, 2012]).

Web links

Commons : Bronze Cuckoo ( Chrysococcyx lucidus )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Erhitzøe, Mann, Brammer, Fuller: Cuckoos of the World . P. 364.
  2. ↑ Erritzoe et al. P. 363f.
  3. ↑ a b c Erhitzøe, Mann, Brammer, Fuller: Cuckoos of the World . P. 363.
  4. ↑ a b Ernst Mayr, p. 8
  5. ↑ xeno-canto: Sound recordings - Shining Bronze-cuckoo ( Chrysococcyx lucidus ) , accessed on September 6, 2916
  6. ^ A b Johnsgard: The Avian Brood Parasites . P. 232.
  7. ↑ Erhitzøe, Mann, Brammer, Fuller: Cuckoos of the World . P. 357.
  8. ↑ a b Erritzoe et al. P. 364f.
  9. ↑ Chalcites lucidus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2012. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2012. Accessed September 18, 2012 found.
  10. ↑ a b c d e Erhitzøe, Mann, Brammer, Fuller: Cuckoos of the World . P. 365.
  11. ^ Johann Friedrich Gmelin, p. 421
  12. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 309
  13. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 220