BetterBirding
Bird guidePheasant Coucal

Unlike most cuckoos, this species builds its own nest and raises its own young instead of laying eggs in other birds' nests.

Spot this speciesRead on Wikipedia
⚠️Not listed
🍃Indigenous: Bugbana, Wubug, Bukbuk, Gurrundula, Djiwuŋgu, A-Gurrundula

At a glance

FamilyCuckoos
SizeLarge
RarityCommon
HabitatThey can fly, but are more typically seen running/flapping across roads, or clumsily crashing into dense vegetation.
Best timeMost reliable in Queensland from October to January.

Sounds

Sound sample
0:000:00
Recorded by Peter Boesman

Range map

Range map

200approx hotspots
90045approx records
4states
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

Adults are streaked rusty brown in nonbreeding plumage. In breeding plumage the head and front are black. They can fly, but are more typically seen running/flapping across roads, or clumsily crashing into dense vegetation.

Behavior

Unlike many cuckoos this species builds its own nest and does not lay eggs in nests of other species. Voice is a familiar repeated ‘whoop,’ and a screeching cat-like hiss.

Gallery

Regional timing

New South Wales
Peak: November to January10,966 records
Queensland
Peak: October to January62,801 records
Northern Territory
Peak: August to November10,300 records
Western Australia
Peak: August to October5,730 records
Australian Capital Territory
Peak: December3 records
Victoria
Peak: May1 records

Commonly confused with

Channel-billed CuckooScythrops novaehollandiaeGigantic cuckoo, with a red eyering and enormous pale beak. A mostly pale gray bird, with darker wings and tail. Spends the middle of the year in eastern Indonesia and New Guinea. Migrates to northern and eastern Australia over the austral summer.→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.→Pacific KoelEudynamys orientalisBright red eye. Males entirely black. Females barred with varying patterns, a black crown and a strong moustache. Occurs in a variety of habitats, fairly common in suburban areas. Strong migrant, spending the middle of the year in eastern Indonesia, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, and migrating south into eastern Australia during the austral summer.→
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