African emerald cuckoo
The African emerald cuckoo (Chrysococcyx cupreus) is a species of cuckoo.
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C. cupreus
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| Chrysococcyx cupreus (Shaw, 1792)
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Contents
Taxonomy & phylogeny
As a member of the Cuculidae genus, the African Emerald Cuckoo is an Old World Cuckoo. There are three subspecies of the African Emerald Cuckoo, the C. c. cupreus, C. c. intermedius, and the C. c. insularum.[2]
Range & distribution
Its range covers most of sub-Saharan Africa, including Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Description
The African Emerald Cuckoo is sexually dimorphic. The males have a green back and head with a yellow breast. Females are barred green and brown on their backs and green and white on their breasts. The African Emerald Cuckoo can also be identified by its call, a four-note whistle with the mnemonic device of “Hello Ju-dy.” [3]
Diet
The cuckoo’s diet consists many of insects like caterpillars and ants.[4] The diet can be supplemented with some fruit, and the African Emerald Cuckoo often forages in the middle and top layers of the canopy.[5]
Conservation status & threats
The cuckoo’s distribution is 11,400,000 km[3] across sub-Saharan Africa, and subsequently the species is not in any immediate threat of decline.[6] However, there is some concern about habitat reduction and fragmentation of riparian areas and lowland forests in the upcoming years.[5]
Reproduction Life cycles
Like most cuckoos, the African Emerald Cuckoo is a brood parasite. Female African Emerald Cuckoos lay eggs in the nests of other bird species. A female cuckoo can lay between 19-25 eggs on average per breeding season.[7] The breeding season occurs during the rainy seasons, generally during the months between September and March.[3] Even though the cuckoo do not need territory (animal) to feed fledglings, male African Emerald Cuckoos still maintain a territory to display itself to potential mates.[3]
Trivia & fun facts
In isiZulu, the bird is called uBantwanyana, and in Xhosa is called Intananja. [4] In Afrikaans, it is known as the mooimeisie, or "pretty girl".[8]
References
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Wikispecies has information related to: Chrysococcyx cupreus |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chrysococcyx cupreus. |
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- African emerald cuckoo - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds.
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