Horsfield’s bronze-cuckoo
Chrysococcyx basalis (Horsfield, 1821)
Horsfield’s cuckoo, Horsfield’s bronze cuckoo
Nil
Horsfield’s bronze-cuckoo Juvenile. Devils Bend, Victoria, Australia, December 2018. Image © Mark Lethlean by Mark Lethlean.
Horsfield’s cuckoo, Horsfield’s bronze cuckoo
Nil
Species information
Horsfield's bronze-cuckoo is a small Australian cuckoo that looks very like the slightly larger shining cuckoo | pīpīwharauroa. The only New Zealand record was a juvenile found dead on a west Auckland beach in 2024.
Identification
Horsfield's bronze-cuckoo is a sparrow-sized cuckoo with a metallic bronze sheen on the back, pale eyebrow, and partly barred underparts (bars not meeting across the belly). Wing coverts and back feathers have fine pale edges, creating a scaly appearance. The tail has rufous edges, boldly barred black-and-white underneath. Juveniles have much duller plumage than adults, and most birds lack barring on the underparts.
Voice: a descending whistle fee-ew or tseeeuw (the reverse of the ascending whistle of shining cuckoo), repeated persistently in sequences of 15 or more calls, often at night.
Similar species: compared to the very similar shining cuckoo, adult Horsfield bronze-cuckoos are slightly smaller, and have a dark stripe through the eye that is framed by a prominent pale eyebrow that curves down over the ear, and have incomplete barring on the belly. Shining cuckoo also has a more iridescent cap. Juvenile Horsfield bronze-cuckoos have much duller plumage than shining cuckoos, and usually lack barring on the underparts. The typical adult calls of the two species are distinctive (see above).
Distribution and habitat
A partly-migratory Australian species that is a common breeding bird in the south-east (including Tasmania) and south-west. Found throughout Australia (sparse or absent in deserts), with some migrating as far north as Indonesia and Malaysia. Horsfield's bronze-cuckoo mainly occur in open woodlands, including suburban parks and gardens. Southern populations are predominantly migratory, departing north in autumn and returning in spring.
New Zealand records
A single juvenile found washed ashore on Muriwai Beach, west Auckland, in March 2024. The timing coincides with the northward migration following the breeding season.
Behaviour and ecology
Obligate brood parasite, typically laying its eggs (one per nest) in the dome-shaped nests of fairy-wrens or thornbills. Feeds on ground more often than shining cuckoo. Adults often call from high, exposed perches.
Food
Almost entirely insectivorous, including hairy caterpillars.
Websites
References
Higgins,P.J. (ed.) 1999. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic birds. Vol. 4, parrots to dollarbird. Oxford University Press, Melbourne.
Menkhorst, P.; Rogers, D.; Clarke, R.; Davies, J.; Marsack, P.; Franklin, K. 2017. The Australian bird guide. Bloomsbury, Christopher Helm, London.
Recommended citation
Miskelly, C.M. 2025. Horsfield’s bronze-cuckoo. In Miskelly, C.M. (ed.) New Zealand Birds Online. www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz
Breeding and ecology
Horsfield’s bronze-cuckoo
No data available.
Identification
Length: 16cm
Weight: 23g
Similar Species:
Shining cuckooPīpīwharauroaA very rare small cuckoo with iridescent dark green plumage upperparts and white below with narrow dark green transverse bands. Diagnostic dark line through eye, with pale eyebrow above and curling down over ear. Immature plumage is much duller, with little or no ventral barring.