Australian cuckoos vary, but key ones like the Channel-billed Cuckoo are large, grey with a huge pale curved bill, red eye-ring, and barred tail, looking like a cross in flight; while the Pallid Cuckoo is slender, grey with a bright yellow eye-ring and barred undertail, and the non-parasitic Pheasant Coucal is large, black/brown with reddish wings and a long, orange-barred tail, running on the ground.
Identification. The Pallid Cuckoo is identified by its grey plumage, which is darker on the wings and back, and its broadly barred black and white undertail. The bill is brown, the legs and feet are grey-brown, and there is a bright yellow ring around the eye. No other Australian cuckoo has this colouration.
There are 12 species of cuckoos in Australia with the unusual Channel Billed Cuckoo being the largest in both Australia and in the world. They are big, heavy birds with a wingspan of up to one meter and a tail that is long and distinctive.
Considered a relatively rare bird in the UK due to declining population numbers - they are listed as a 'red' priority species under the UK's Biodiversity Framework. Since the 1960s, cuckoo populations have decreased by 60%, and there are now fewer than 2,000 breeding pairs in the UK.
The favoured foods of the Channel-billed Cuckoo are native figs and native fruits, though some seeds, insects and even baby birds are also taken. The birds take figs from the tree with their massive bills.
It was once thought to be unlucky to see the first cuckoo before the first swallow, while ill fortune was said to befall the person who heard a cuckoo calling from their left (whereas a year of good luck could be expected if the call was from your right!)
The bird that goes "woop woop woop" in Australia is the Pheasant Coucal, a large, ground-dwelling cuckoo known for its distinctive, resonant, bubbling call that sounds like "oop-oop-oop-opp" or "whoop-whoop-whoop," often heard morning and night, and sometimes mistaken for rain.
Cuckoos are as famous for their spring and summer call - listen from April to June for it echoing out across the Dales - as they are for abdicating parental responsibility, laying eggs in the nest of an unsuspecting host.
Many migrating birds return along roughly the same route they followed on their outward journey. Others return a different way, maybe taking advantage of different winds and weather systems or food supplies only available at certain locations at different times of year.
Although cuckoos do not show parental care, they demonstrate complex social interactions, including territorial behaviours and male–male aggression. Cuckoos have a well-known and simple two-phrase call ('cu' and 'coo'), uttered by males during their breeding season.
Australia's rarest bird is often cited as the Mukarrthippi Grasswren, with potentially only a handful of individuals left in New South Wales, though the elusive Night Parrot and Red Goshawk are also contenders for the title, each with critically low numbers and facing high extinction risks. The Mukarrthippi grasswren has a very low known population (4-20) in a tiny area, while the Night Parrot population is estimated around 10-20 at Pullen Pullen Reserve, and the Red Goshawk is Australia's rarest bird of prey, with its range significantly reduced.
Their beaks are large and wide, hence the name frogmouth. The genus name, Podargus, is from the Greek work for gout. Why? Unlike owls they don't have curved talons on their feet; in fact, their feet are small, and they're said to walk like a gout-ridden man!
Over the past three months you have probably heard the Channel-billed Cuckoo calling in your neighbourhood - a call that can be considered as distinctive as the bird's appearance! This species is the largest Australian cuckoo, measuring between 56 and 70cm, with a wingspan that can stretch to more than a metre.
Hearing the first cuckoos call in spring was believed to bring forth luck, fortune, and marital status, and its a common practice to turn over whatever you have in your pockets to bring forth prosperity. In many places throughout Europe, whatever direction the cuckoo called from would divine the coming year.
To identify a bird from a picture, the best method is using smartphone apps like Merlin Bird ID, which uses AI to analyze your photo and offers a list of possible matches, often combining visual data with location and date for accuracy. Other options include the iPhone's built-in "Look Up" feature for quick identification or specialized apps like Picture Bird, though some may involve subscriptions.
They visit northern and eastern Australia when they are ready to breed and spend the rest of their time in Indonesia and New Guinea. They have a loud call that can be heard throughout the night. Channel-billed cuckoos are the world's largest cuckoos.
Most songbirds find a secluded branch or a tree cavity, fluff out their down feathers beneath their outer feathers, turn their head to face backward and tuck their beak into their back feathers, and close their eyes. Waterbirds sometimes sleep in the water. Some sleep on tree branches or in cavities, too.
When is it safe to remove bird nests without interfering with nature? Most birds use the nests only once and will start fresh in the spring with a new nest. However, if you're eager to pull that empty nest off your porch light, just be mindful of a minor exception to the "one-and-done" rule.
Cuckoo is a summer visitor to our shores, the males arriving in late April and leaving again as early as the first week of June. Cuckoo numbers are declining in Britain, albeit with much regional variation, and the bird's familiar two-note call has been lost from many of its former haunts.
And this is where things start to come apart. The hooded woman is, it turns out, a humanoid cuckoo of uncertain origin; her screams disorient human victims, allowing her to vomit fluid into their mouths and implant an egg.
For the most part, the cuckoos are also diurnal as opposed to nocturnal, but many species call at night (see below). The cuckoos are also generally a shy and retiring family, more often heard than seen. The exception to this is again the anis, which are often extremely trusting towards humans and other species.
Casuarius casuarius johnsonii. Southern Cassowary 🪶 Dubbed as the world's most dangerous bird, the Southern Cassowary has a vivid blue neck and striking long red wattles. If they feel threatened this flightless bird can deliver a powerful kick strong enough to break bones.
As a result, the males in particular feel compelled to start singing. They normally sing most at dawn, but in many residential and urban areas they are fooled by streetlights, porch lights, etc. These trick their bodies into believing that dawn is breaking, causing them to start singing in the middle of the night.
The bush stone-curlew is probably heard more than it is seen. Its call sounds like a wail or a scream in the night. When scared, it screeches – a sound similar to the screech of a possum.