Cuckoo

Cuckoo
Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis variolosus
Scientific classification
Kingdom Information
Domain	Eukaryota
Kingdom	Animalia
Subkingdom	Bilateria
Branch	Deuterostomia
Phylum Information
Phylum	Chordata
Sub-phylum	Vertebrata
Infraphylum	Gnathostomata
Class Information
Superclass	Tetrapoda
Class	Aves
Sub-class	Neornithes
Infra-class	Neoaves
Order Information
Superorder	Passerimorphae
Order	Cuculiformes
Family Information
Family	Cuculidae
Population statistics

Cuckoo refers to any bird of the family Cuculidae, order Cuculiformes, comprising 32 genera and some 140 species, with some species having the characterization of parasitizing the nests of other birds. Strictly-speaking, cuckoo refers to 60 species within the subfamilies Cuculinae and Phaenicophaeinae, but studies have broadened it to include malkohas, anis, and ground cuckoos.

Description

Cuckoos are short-winged small to medium-sized birds, with a length of about 6.5 inches for the glossy cuckoos to about 36 inches for the larger ground cuckoos. Their colors are usually a drab gray or brown, with lighter underparts, with some species bearing a contrasting flash of red or white; the glossy cuckoos sport an emerald green plumage, while some tropical species bear iridescent blue on backs and wings. Their tails are long and graduated, tipped in white. Legs are long in the ground cuckoos, and all species have zygodactyl feet, i.e. two toes in front, two behind, similar to owls and parrots.

Cuckoos get their name from the sound just one of their species make: cuck-ooo, cuck-ooo, from the common cuckoo, Cuculus canorus.

All species of the subfamily Cuculinae and three species of Phaenicophaeinae practice brood parasitism, the habit for which cuckoos are best known. The cuckoo female of these subfamilies seeks out a nest, usually those birds who nest within marshes, and lays a single egg. The host bird now has an additional egg to incubate, albeit slightly larger; the deception is further enhanced by the fact that the 47 species of Cuculinae also practice egg mimicry, i.e. the cuckoo egg laid in the host nest matches the host's in color and pattern. The cuckoo may also have removed the host bird's own eggs; if not, then the newly hatched chick removes them, pushing both eggs and host chicks out of the nest.

The majority of cuckoo species build their own nests, rearing their young normally in the manner of other birds; those of the subfamily Crotophaginae (anis and guira) build their nests communally.

Cuckoos are generally solitary birds, found in thick forests worldwide; some species have been observed in open savanna where a large number of trees are present, while the ground cuckoos inhabit desert scrub. Almost all species are predatory, feeding on insects, with the larger species preying on small snakes, lizards, mice, and birds. The genus Coua of Madagascar is the sole exception; its ten species feed on fruit.

Taxonomy

• Subfamily Centropodinae; coucals, 30 species

Genus Centropus

• Subfamily Coccyzinae; American cuckoos; 3 genera, 18 species

Genus Coccycua; formerly in Coccyzus and Piaya, includes Micrococcyx (3 species)

Genus Coccyzus; includes Saurothera and Hyetornis (13 species)

Genus Piaya; (2 species)

• Subfamily Crotophaginae; Anis; 4 species

Genus Crotophaga; true anis (3 species)

Genus Guira; guira cuckoo

• Subfamily Cuculinae; brood-parasitic cuckoos; 13 genera, 63 species.

Genus Cacomantis; small cuckoos found in southern and southeastern Asia, Indonesia, and Australia (10 species)

Genus Cercococcyx; long-tailed cuckoos (3 species)

Genus Chrysococcyx; bronze cuckoos (13 species)

Genus Clamator; large brood-parasitic cuckoos (4 species)

Genus Cuculus; typical cuckoos (11 species)

Genus Eocuculus; (extinct, known only from fossils)

Genus Eudynamys; typical koels (4 species)

Genus Hierococcyx; hawk-cuckoos (8 species)

Genus Microdynamis; dwarf koel

Genus Pachycoccyx; thick-billed cuckoo

Genus Scythrops; channel-billed cuckoo

Genus Surniculus; drongo-cuckoos (4 species)

Genus Urodynamis; Pacific long-tailed cuckoo

• Subfamily Neomorphinae; New World ground cuckoos; 6 genera, 12 species

Genus Dromococcyx; (2 species)

Genus Geococcyx; roadrunners (2 species)

Genus Morococcyx; lesser ground cuckoo

Genus Neomorphus; Neotropical ground-cuckoos (5 species)

Genus Neococcyx; (extinct; known from fossils only)

Genus Tapera; striped cuckoo

• Subfamily Phaenicophaeinae; malkohas and couas; 5 genera, 27 species

Genus Carpococcyx; Asian ground-cuckoos (3 species)

Genus Ceuthmochares; yellowbills (2 species)

Genus Coua; couas (10 species)

Genus Phaenicophaeus; typical malkohas (11 species)

Genus Rhinortha; Raffles's malkoha

• Undetermined, referred to scientifically as "basal" or "incertae sedis".

Genus Cuculidae; taxonomic status undetermined, known from fossils only.

Genus Cursoricoccyx; taxonomic status undetermined, known from fossils only.

Genus Dynamopterus; taxonomic status undetermined, known from fossils only.

Genus Nannococcyx; Saint Helena cuckoo (extinct)