African Cuckoo-Hawk

Aviceda cuculoides

The African cuckoo-hawk, also known as the African baza, is a medium-sized raptor that bears a resemblance to the common cuckoo. Males display a blackish-brown plumage with a grey mantle and chest, adorned with a blackish crest. Their underparts are white, marked with broad chestnut bars. The tail is black, featuring three grey bars and a grey and white tip. Females are generally browner with paler chestnut bars on the underparts. This bird is distinctive in flight, characterized by its small head, broad and narrowly rounded wings, and a medium-length tail. The wingspan is just over double the body length, with females being slightly larger than males.

Identification Tips

When observing the African cuckoo-hawk, look for a small raptor with a small head and broad wings that are narrowly rounded. The male's blackish-brown upperparts and grey mantle are key identifiers, along with the chestnut bars on the white underparts. The tail's black color with grey bars and a grey and white tip is also distinctive. Females can be identified by their browner plumage and paler chestnut bars.

Habitat

This shy species can be found in the interior and edges of evergreen forests and deciduous woodlands. It also frequents suburban gardens, more open savannas, and can be found at elevations up to 3,000 meters (9,800 feet). During migration through East Africa, it may also inhabit drier woodlands and bush areas.

Distribution

The African cuckoo-hawk is widespread across sub-Saharan Africa, with its range extending to the eastern parts of Southern Africa. It is divided into three recognized subspecies: A. c. cuculoides, A. c. batesi, and A. c. verreauxii, each occupying different geographical regions within its range.

Behaviour

This largely sedentary bird exhibits some migratory behavior, with northward movements to East Africa, particularly coastal Kenya, during April to November. Outside the breeding season, some individuals migrate to southern Africa, especially to the Transvaal Highveld. The African cuckoo-hawk is known for its secretive habits, although it becomes slightly more conspicuous during migration.

Breeding

The African cuckoo-hawk is monogamous and a solitary nester. It engages in spectacular aerial displays as the breeding season approaches. The nest, built by both sexes in about 11 days, is an untidy platform of twigs, vines, and leaves, lined with softer materials. It is typically placed high in a tree. Clutch size is usually one to two eggs, occasionally three. Both parents are involved in feeding and brooding the chicks, which leave the nest after 28 days and fly a few days later. Juveniles remain dependent on their parents for about a week post-fledging.

Diet and Feeding

The diet of the African cuckoo-hawk mainly consists of reptiles and insects. It hunts by moving from tree to tree within the canopy, perching to search before swooping down to pluck prey from the foliage or ground. Its diet includes chameleons, lizards, snakes, frogs, fish, fruit bats, mice, birds, grasshoppers, locusts, stick insects, silverfish larvae, caterpillars, mantids, and freshwater crabs.