Red-chested Cuckoo Cuculus solitarius Scientific name definitions

31 cm; 75 g. Adult male dark grey above , tail tipped white; chin grey, breast rufous (often dark-barred), upper belly barred black and white, undertail-coverts unbarred whitish; eyelids yellow-green, iris brown, bill black with yellow base, feet yellow. Female often has throat buffy, sometimes pale grey, but never barred; breast usually paler rufous and always barred. Juvenile  blackish above with white feather margins, throat  to upper breast black with white feather margins, belly barred black and white, tail black with white spots and tip, eye black, bill black, feet orange.

Senegal E through Nigeria to South Sudan and Ethiopia, and S through DRCongo, Angola, Zambia, NE Namibia (Caprivi Strip), N Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to S South Africa; also Bioko (in Gulf of Guinea). Recorded also in SE Niger (1 Christensen, K.D., Tøttrup, A.P., Rahner, M.C. and Brouwer, J. (2005). First records for Niger of Red-chested Cuckoo Cuculus solitarius, Grassland Pipit Anthus cinnamomeus, Buff-bellied Warbler Phyllolais pulchella and Isabelline Shrike Lanius isabellinus. Bull. Afr. Bird Club 12(2): 162–164. Close ).

Forest, open woodland, riparian woodland, thorn scrub, and in montane areas to 3000 m. A forest bird in W, C & S Africa, but more of an open woodland bird in E Africa , where mainly above 1000 m and within 500+ mm rainfall areas; also breeds in semi-arid acacia savanna.

Intra-African migrant. Migratory in S part of range, arriving in Malawi and S Africa in Sept and leaving in Mar; perhaps migratory in W Africa, especially Nigeria, where it moves from coastal areas during rains to the N savannas. Exceptional vagrant to Amsterdam I (2 Roux, J.P. and Martinez, J. (1987). Rare, vagrant and introduced birds at Amsterdam and Saint Paul Islands, southern Indian Ocean. Cormorant. 14(1–2): 3–19. Close , 3 Ausilio, E. and Zotier, R. (1989). Vagrant birds at îles Kerguelen, southern Indian Ocean. Cormorant. 17: 9–18. Close ).

Insects, mainly hairy caterpillars  , also beetles, grasshoppers, spiders, slugs, centipedes, millipedes, snails; also small frogs and lizards, berries.

The song of Red-chested Cuckoo is one of the characteristic sounds of Africa's woodland regions, and many local onomatopoeic names have been given to this species, such as “piet-my-vrou” (Afrikaans) or “it-will-rain!”, but also "quid-pro-quo" or a rather far-fetched "chuck-wills-widow" (4 van Someren, V. G. L. (1956). Days with birds: studies of habits of some East African species. Fieldiana Zoology 38:1–520. Close ). Not only was there a voice transcription "it-wil-rain!", the Red-chested Cuckoo itself was long named the rain-bird, as it was believed its song announced rain. Careful comparison of rain pattern and vocal activity did however prove there was no predictive value in the bird's song (5 Prins, H.H.T. (1989). Calling by the Red-chested Cuckoo Cuculus solitarius in relation to rainfall. Scopus 12: 94-96. Close ). Nevertheless, the bird is more vocal during the breeding season, which in many African regions indeed coincides with the rainy season.

Vocal Development

Little information. Begging call of fledged birds is a repeated high-pitched buzzy tzee (duration ⁓0.3s, average frequency ⁓8kHz), similar to C. canorus.

Vocal Array

Advertisement call. A repeated stereotypic emphatic three-note phrase pee-peu-poow, that has been transcribed in many different ways. The three overslurred notes are uttered at similar amplitude, but drop in pitch and have each a slightly different tonality (phrase duration ⁓0.75s with first note shortest ⁓0.10s and last note longest ⁓0.12s, maximum frequency first note ⁓2kHz, last note ⁓1.6kHz). Pace of phrase my accelerate in excitement, during encounters of several birds. This vocalisation is uttered by the male, with throat inflated and bill widely open while calling.

Kwik-kwik-kwik. A loud fast series of some 4‒8 upslurred notes. Maximum frequency ⁓2.5‒3kHz (clearly higher-pitched than the Advertisement call), pace about 5‒6 notes/s. Often given by a (female) bird in response to the male Advertisement call.

Other. An excited hahe-hahe-hahe with emphasis on ha has also been described, possibly given by the female before copulation (6 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ). A bird in the hand uttered a series of nasal screams.

Geographic Variation

A detailed study has not been performed yet, but Advertisement call is very stereotypical and does not seem to vary geographically.

Phenology

Mainly vocal at the onset of the breeding period, but can be heard in most months when present. In Ghana, mainly vocal from March to September, with regional differences possibly reflecting different breeding periods (7 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2014). The Birds of Ghana: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press, Liège, Belgium. Close ). In Zambia, calling starts from first arrival (August) and has usually stopped by mid March (8 Dowsett, R. J., D. R. Aspinwall, and F. Dowsett-Lemaire (2008). The Birds of Zambia. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ). In Tanzania, vocal activity was mainly from November till February, falling off into April and ending in June (9 Fuggles-Couchman, N.R. (1981). Some notes on the Red-chested Cuckoo Cuculus solitarius in Tanzania. Scopus 5:58. Close ).

Daily Pattern of Vocalizing

Mainly calls in early morning and to a lesser extent again in late afternoon, but can be heard occasionally throughout the day. Also calls at night.

Places of Vocalizing

Advertisement call is given from a perch in the upper canopy, more exposed at first light but usually well concealed later in the morning.

Sex Differences

Advertisement call is given by male, Kwik-kwik-kwik call given by female.

Social Content and Presumed Functions of Vocalizations

Advertisement call is used presumably for territorial defence and mate attraction. Male typically perches high in a tree when it gets light and starts singing, which may go on for half an hour or more, after which he starts flying around, occasionally uttering its advertisement call (4 van Someren, V. G. L. (1956). Days with birds: studies of habits of some East African species. Fieldiana Zoology 38:1–520. Close ). Several male calling birds can sometimes be heard within hearing distance, and have even been observed calling from a single tree, possibly in territorial dispute. Female Kwik-kwik-kwik call is often given in response to male Advertisement call, as an asynchronous duet.

None documented.

Breeds in early rains: calls in S Senegal and Gambia in Jun–Aug; breeds Mar–May in E Africa (varies with rains), possibly Apr- Jul in Ethiopia, Oct–Jan in S Africa. Brood-parasitic  : hosts mainly thrushes, robins and alethes. Eggs unspotted chocolate-brown in S & E Africa where robin-chats (Cossypha) parasitized, blue with fine brown spots for other hosts, especially scrub-robins (Erythropygia) in E Africa; 22 mm × 18 mm; incubation 12–14 days. Nestling hatches naked, skin dark brown, inside of mouth yellow, darkening to orange, feet yellow; evicts host’s eggs and chicks; fledges in 17–21 days.

Not globally threatened. Generally common in forests and woodlands throughout extensive range. Apparently widespread and common in much of E Africa , and a common summer visitor in S Africa. No threats known at present.