Thick-billed Cuckoo

The Thick-billed Cuckoo, Pachycoccyx audeberti, stands out among its brood parasitic kin with a notably robust bill, hawk-like in its contour. This singular species, monotypic within its genus, is a master of disguise and subterfuge in the avian world.

Identification Tips

To identify the Thick-billed Cuckoo, one should look for its distinctive thick bill, which sets it apart from other cuckoos. The adult and juvenile can be observed in their respective habitats across South Africa and Tanzania.

Habitat

The preferred habitats of this species are the humid to subhumid woodlands and gallery forests. It thrives from Guinea in the northwest to Mozambique in the southeast, though it notably avoids the vast expanses of the Congo Basin.

Distribution

The Thick-billed Cuckoo once graced the rainforests of northeastern Madagascar but has been absent since 1922. In the southern reaches of its range, this bird exhibits partial migratory behavior, retreating to East Africa during the southern dry season.

Behaviour

The Thick-billed Cuckoo exhibits typical cuckoo behavior, feeding on hairy caterpillars with a marked fondness for grasshoppers and praying mantises. Its feeding habits reflect a diet adapted to the availability of prey in its woodland and forest habitats.

Breeding

A specialized brood parasite, the Thick-billed Cuckoo targets helmetshrikes almost exclusively. Its impact on the nesting success of these birds is profound, with some helmetshrike groups failing to rear their own young over multiple breeding attempts due to the cuckoo's parasitism.

Similar Species

While the Thick-billed Cuckoo is unique in its genus, it shares its parasitic lifestyle with other cuckoos. It is differentiated by its bill and specific host selection compared to other species like the Black Cuckoo, which parasitizes bush shrikes.

Diet and Feeding

The diet of the Thick-billed Cuckoo is primarily composed of hairy caterpillars, grasshoppers, and praying mantises, reflecting its adaptation to the insect fauna of its woodland and forest habitats.

Conservation status

The IUCN Red List classifies the Thick-billed Cuckoo as Least Concern, indicating that, for now, this species does not face an immediate threat of extinction in the wild.