Cuculidae Cuckoos
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Introduction
Although Cuculidae includes some of the most social birds, the group-living anis, it is perhaps best known for its particularly antisocial members, the brood-parasitic cuckoos that abdicate parental duties by laying their eggs in the nests of other species. Brood parasitism evolved independently at least three times in this family and many species are brood parasites. Cuckoos parasitize an astounding variety of hosts worldwide, and many species lay eggs that mimic the eggs of their host. Largely forest birds, the adults are often hard to see and are detected only by their species-distinctive, simple, whistled calls. A few, however, such as roadrunners and guiras, can be seen darting about open habitats or perched on fence posts.
Habitat
Most cuckoos inhabit forested and woodland habitats, though some species prefer open savanna and arid scrubland.
Diet and Foraging
Most cuckoos feed primarily on insects, many preferring caterpillars, and some of the larger species prefer small vertebrates whereas others feed primarily on fruit.
Breeding
Cuculidae boasts a wide variety of breeding strategies, from brood parasitism to cooperative breeding and from monogamy to polyandry. Eggs of many brood-parasitic species mimic the eggs of their hosts, and some species can parasitize a remarkable array of egg types. This is accomplished by individual females laying eggs of only a single type and parasitizing the appropriate host, usually the same species of host that raised the female. In some broodparasitizing species, the young, upon hatching, may physically eject the eggs of the host from the nest. Among obligate brood parasites, there is remarkably little known about the mating system. Despite the lack of any parental duties, it appears that most species are mostly monogamous, with a bit of both polyandry and polygyny in different systems. Among the species that care for their own young, some are monogamous with biparental care, some are polyandrous with male care only, and many are cooperative breeders, with up to five mated pairs of birds defending a single territory and all the females of the breeding group laying their eggs in a single nest and cooperating in caring for the offspring. The cuckoos that raise their young have a variety of nest styles, from dome-shaped nests of dried grass, with a side entrance, to relatively shallow, bowl-shaped nests made of sticks. Parental species generally lay 1 to 5 eggs, but clutches can climb to 20 eggs when several females lay in a common nest. In the socially monogamous species, as well as the cooperative breeding species, both sexes participate in all aspects of parental care, from incubation to feeding young. The growth rates of cuckoo chicks are high, with rapid development and short nestling periods for both brood-parasitic and parental species.
Conservation Status
Many cuculid species, particularly those in Southeast Asia, are threatened with continued habitat destruction and degradation. Other threats include opportunistic hunting of cuckoos for food, the introduction of competitors, and predation by non-native mammalian predators. About 13% of cuckoo species are at risk (10 NT, 6 VU, 2 EN, 2 CR); one, the snaileating Coua delalandei, probably went extinct in the mid-19 century, and the two critically endangered species both have limited ranges and populations.
Systematics History
Cuculidae is the sole family in Cuculiformes. Early morphological work suggested that Cuculidae was allied with Musophagidae or Opisthocomidae. Recent molecular phylogenies indicate instead that Cuculiformes may be sister to Gruiformes, with that clade being sister to Otidiformes (Ericson et al. 2006a, Hackett et al. 2008), or that Cuculiformes may be sister to a clade containing both Otidiformes and Musophagiformes (Jarvis et al. 2014). For relationships among the clades within Cuculidae, see the phylogenies and groupings in Sorenson & Payne 2005.
Conservation Status
Least Concern |
78.9%
|
---|---|
Near Threatened |
3.4%
|
Vulnerable |
4.8%
|
Endangered |
1.4%
|
Critically Endangered |
1.4%
|
Extinct in the Wild |
0%
|
Extinct |
1.4%
|
Not Evaluated |
0%
|
Data Deficient |
0%
|
Unknown |
8.8%
|
Data provided by IUCN (2023) Red List. More information