Jacobin Cuckoo
Clamator jacobinus
Woodland. Pied form: black above, white below, with crested head.
Cuckoos
LC
Not Endemic
Description
Common summer resident. Two colour morphs: (a) with clear white underparts and (b) totally black except for white wing-bar, which distinguishes it from [Black Cuckoo]. Noisy and conspicuous, calling a shrill, flute-like ‘kleeuw, pewp-pewp, kleeuw, pewp-pewp…’. Pairs occur in woodland, riparian forest, valley bush and bushveld. Parasitises bulbuls and other small birds.
Quick Facts
Size
33-34 cm - M
Names
A: Bontnuwejaarsvoël
Ss: Lekeokiri La Mmetsosweu
G: Jakobinerkuckuck, Elsterkuckuck
Bird Family
Cuckoos are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other birds, and the majority are absent from southern Africa during the period March-September. The related coucals are larger, more robust and mainly sedentary birds that build their own nests and rear young in the conventional manner.
Distribution
Gallery
Behaviour
Breeding
Habitat
Pairs occur in woodland, riparian 'forest', valley bush and bushveld.
