Quantcast

Oriental Cuckoo

Cuculus saturatusOrder: CUCULIFORMESFamily: Cuckoos and Roadrunners (Cuculidae)

Breeding Location:

Forest



Breeding Type:

Promiscuous, Brood parasite



Breeding Population:

Accidental to casual



Egg Color:

White with dark red, gray brown or purple spots



Number of Eggs:

18 - 23



Incubation Days:

12



Egg Incubator:



Nest Material:

Grasses, leaves.



Migration:

Migratory



Splitbar

Overview

Oriental Cuckoo: Medium-sized cuckoo with gray upperparts, gray throat, and distinctly barred breast. Wings and long tail are dark gray. Bill is decurved and yellow with dark tip. Feeds on caterpillars, insects and their larvae. Flies low to the ground, holds wings low during flight.

Range and Habitat

Oriental Cuckoo: Native of Eurasia, but makes rare visits to the Pribilofs and western Aleutians. Usually found in forests.

Breeding and Nesting

Oriental Cuckoo: Eighteen to twenty-five white eggs with dark red, gray, brown, or purple spots are laid each season, singly placed in nests of host species. Eggs are incubated for 12 days by the host.

Foraging and Feeding

Oriental Cuckoo: Eats insects, including fuzzy caterpillars; forages on the ground or in flight.

Vocalization

Oriental Cuckoo: Song is a muted "do-do-do-do."

Similar Species

Oriental Cuckoo: Common Cuckoo has paler gray upperparts, paler gray underparts, and lacks buff undertail coverts.

.
Bird database and its related content, illustrations and media is Copyright © 2002 - 2007  Whatbird.com
All rights reserved. No part of this web site may be reproduced without written permission from Mitch Waite Group.
 Privacy Policy.
Percevia® Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family Roadrunners and Cuckoos (Cuculidae)
Species Cuculus saturatus
Length12 - 13 Inches
Wingspan28 Inches

Oriental Cuckoo

Oriental Cuckoo: Medium-sized cuckoo with gray upperparts, gray throat, and distinctly barred breast. Wings and long tail are dark gray. Bill is decurved and yellow with dark tip. Feeds on caterpillars, insects and their larvae. Flies low to the ground, holds wings low during flight.

● Song: "do-do-do-do"

● Foraging & Feeding: Oriental Cuckoo: Eats insects, including fuzzy caterpillars; forages on the ground or in flight.

● Breeding & nesting: Oriental Cuckoo: Eighteen to twenty-five white eggs with dark red, gray, brown, or purple spots are laid each season, singly placed in nests of host species. Eggs are incubated for 12 days by the host.

● Similar species: Oriental Cuckoo: Common Cuckoo has paler gray upperparts, paler gray underparts, and lacks buff undertail coverts.

Flight Pattern

While flying, keeps wings low, not raising them above the horizontal plane, with deep downstroke ending well below body.
Oriental Cuckoo Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Oriental Cuckoo: Native of Eurasia, but makes rare visits to the Pribilofs and western Aleutians. Usually found in forests.
BreedingPromiscuous, Brood parasite
PopulationAccidental to casual
MigrationMigratory
Weight4.1 Ounces