Levaillant's Cuckoo

The Levaillant's cuckoo, a bird named in honor of the French explorer and ornithologist François Le Vaillant, is a striking species with a length of approximately 37.5 cm. This bird is characterized by a longer tail than its relative, the pied cuckoo, and a throat adorned with more pronounced streaking.

Identification Tips

Observers should note the two distinct color morphs of Levaillant's cuckoo. The light morph boasts a black plumage with a subtle bluish or greenish gloss, while the throat streaking may extend onto the sides. The primaries and rectrix tips are white. In contrast, the dark morph is predominantly black, save for the white primary patch and white spots on the outer tail feathers. Juveniles present with a brown upper body, rufous wing-coverts, and rectrix tips, along with a buff forehead, face, and underparts, and more heavily streaked throat.

Habitat

Levaillant's cuckoo favors bushy environments within its African range.

Distribution

This cuckoo is a resident breeding species throughout Africa, south of the Sahara.

Behaviour

A master of deception, Levaillant's cuckoo engages in brood parasitism, laying its eggs in the nests of bulbuls and babblers. Both male and female engage in acrobatic flights to distract the host birds, with the male continuing the distraction while the female lays her egg. Notably, the cuckoo chick does not expel other eggs or nestlings from the nest and leaves it after about ten days, reaching independence in four to six weeks.

Song & Calls

The Levaillant's cuckoo's call is a distinctive low ringing "kuwu-weer, kuwu-weer…" and an animated "ku-wi-wi-wi" when excited.

Breeding

As a brood parasite, this cuckoo relies on the nests of other bird species, such as the Southern Pied Babbler, the Bare-Cheeked Babbler, the Hartlaub's Babbler, or the Arrow-marked Babbler, for laying and hatching its eggs.

Similar Species

The dark morph of Levaillant's cuckoo can be distinguished from the dark pied cuckoo by the presence of white spots on the outer tail feathers, which are absent in the latter.

Conservation status

The IUCN Red List classifies Levaillant's cuckoo as Least Concern, indicating a stable population without immediate threats to its survival.