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Brush Cuckoo

(Cacomantis variolosus)
Alternative name: "Square-tailed Cuckoo"
Size: 22-26 cm

Habitat
(for details refer to a field guide)

Brush Cuckoos migrate to Australia from the north, across the Torres Strait and Cape York. They populate the entire tropical north of the continent, from the Kimberleys in the west to almost the entire Cape York peninsula, and continue along the east coast as far as the Melbourne, VIC, area. They also move into the Great Dividing Range and are found out to the western slopes of the range. Race "variolosus" is found along the east coast, south of about Rockhampton, QLD, whereas race "dumetorum" is found west of the Gulf of Carpentaria. In the overlap region, i.e. most of Cape York and along the southern end of the Gulf of Carpentaria, both races are intermingled.

Brush Cuckoos are usually found in dense forest, often rainforest.

Sightings

The first, and so far only, spotting of a Brush Cuckoo was in our garden, 20 km south of Narrabri, NSW, in January of 2006, on a day with 40 C heat, during which lots of birds made use of the shade of our trees and the water that we provide.

Photos

Lateral view of a Brush Cuckoo

View of the back of the same Brush Cuckoo as above

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial Mobility: Migratory Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

Food

Like most other cuckoos, Brush Cuckoos are insect hunters. They take their prey from foliage.

These pages are largely based on our own observations. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.