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Pallid Cuckoo

(Cuculus pallidus)
Alternative names: "Grasshopper Hawk", "Harbinger-of-Spring", "Stormbird", "Semitone-bird", "Scale-bird", "Brainfever-bird"
Size: 28-34 cm

Habitat
(for details refer to a field guide)

Pallid Cuckoos are migratory, but - as opposed to various other migratory species of cuckoo - endemic to the Australian continent. During their breeding season they are found primarily in the south-east (Tasmania, VIC, NSW and south-eastern QLD) and the south-west (the south-western corner of WA, up to about Geraldton, but also inland up to the tropic of Capricorn near the spring of the Fitzroy River) of the continent. Outside their breeding season they disperse, populating most of the NT and SA and the Kimberleys in WA. They are occasionally found in the rest of the continent as well, except the most arid part (parts of eastern WA). They are also found on numerous offshore islands.

Pallid Cuckoos are usually found in forests and more open woodland.

Sightings

Pallid Cuckoos showed up where we lived in 2003-2006, 20 km south of Narrabri, NSW, only occasionally.

20 km east of Narrabri a bird appeared in August 2010. The next year, 2011, again a bird was seen in the third week of August. Migrating only inside Australia, they appear further south again earlier than other migrants that cross the Torres Strait. In 2011 these Australian migrants probably rode the northerly winds of a weather system that brought rain to the NSW inland in mid-August.

They are not particularly well-liked by other local birds, because they know that Cuckoos are trouble (see below).

Photos

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Close-up lateral view of a male Pallid Cuckoo

Here the same bird as above issuing its loud call

Male Pallid Cuckoo on a power line

Dorsal view of a Pallid Cuckoo

This photo shows the pale patch at the back of the bird's head

Willie Wagtail was clearly not pleased by the cuckoo's appearance

Frontal view of an immature female Pallid Cuckoo

View of the back of the same immature female Pallid Cuckoo as above

White-plumed Honeyeater making it clear to a Pallid Cuckoo that it is not welcome

Behaviour

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

Food

Like most other cuckoos, Pallid Cuckoos are insect hunters. They take their prey from foliage and from the ground. This species has a rare taste for hairy caterpillars, which most other species dislike.