Its plaintive, ascending whistle call is one of the characteristic sounds of the Australian spring across much of the continent.
Not listed
Endemic to Australia
At a glance
FamilyCuckoos
SizeMedium
RarityCommon
Habitatopen woodland, sparse woodland, closed forest, grassland, and herbaceous graminoids sparse hummock grasses
Best timeMost reliable in Victoria from September to October.
Sounds
Sound sampleRecorded by jimchurches
Range map
Range map
200approx hotspots
62668approx records
7states
Low confidenceMediumHigh confidence
Aggregated occurance data is sourced from 14 different actively-updating datasets including eBird Australia, iNaturalist Australia, BirdLife Australia, and multiple state-based bird surveys through Atlas of Living Australia.
Species notes
Overview
Yellow eyering, and a dark indistinct stripe across the cheek.
Behavior
Has a distinctive call that has several notes, and tends to perch in prominent places or fence-posts while calling.
Gallery
Regional timing
Western Australia
Queensland
Victoria
Tasmania
New South Wales
Northern Territory
South Australia
Australian Capital Territory
Commonly confused with
Fan-tailed CuckooCacomantis flabelliformisBright yellow eyering and heavily barred tail. Take care to identify from Brush Cuckoo (which has a gray eyering), and from Pallid Cuckoo (which is paler and lacks the warm breast tones).→Sahul Brush CuckooCacomantis variolosusGray eyering and heavily barred tail. Lack of a yellow eyering separates it from Fan-tailed Cuckoo, with which it overlaps in Australia and New Guinea.→Horsfield's Bronze-CuckooChalcites basalisYoung birds can be almost unbarred and may appear similar to the grayer Black-eared Cuckoo. Occurs in Indonesia and across much of Australia (including arid inland areas).→