Chalcites lucidus
The Shining Bronze Cuckoo, Chalcites lucidus, is a petite and exquisitely iridescent avian marvel of the Australasian region. Measuring a mere 15-17 cm in length and weighing just 19-24 grams, this small cuckoo is instantly recognizable by its dazzling bronze-green to copper-green upperparts, which shimmer in the sunlight. Its underparts are a pristine white, finely barred with bronze-green, creating a striking contrast. Key field marks include a distinct white supercilium above a dark eye-st...
Found in a variety of open forest types, woodlands, shrublands, coastal scrub, orchards, and even suburban gardens, typically at low to moderate elevations.
Mainly insectivorous, specializing in gleaning hairy caterpillars from foliage, but also consuming other insects and spiders.
Primarily diurnal, the Shining Bronze Cuckoo is often heard before it is seen, especially during the breeding season. Its foraging strategy involves actively gleaning insects, particularly hairy caterpillars, from foliage. As an obligate brood parasite, it exhibits no territorial behavior related...
The Shining Bronze Cuckoo boasts a wide distribution across the southwestern Pacific. Its breeding range encompasses New Zealand (both North and South Islands, as well as Chatham and Norfolk Islands), eastern and southern Australia, Tasmania, New Caledonia, the Loyalty Islands, and Vanuatu, with ...
Least Concern
- The Shining Bronze Cuckoo is an obligate brood parasite, meaning it never builds its own nest or raises its own young. - Females lay their eggs in the nests of much smaller host birds, such as fantails, gerygones, and thornbills. - The cuckoo chick, often hatching first, instinctively pushes th...