Black-eared Cuckoo Chrysococcyx osculans Scientific name definitions

20 cm; 30 g. Adult grey above with slight metallic gloss, long white supercilium, broad black band  through eye, pale rump, tail grey with white tip  ; creamy buff below  ; eye-ring grey, iris black, bill black, feet dark grey. Juvenile  similar, but face markings less distinct, underparts buff.

Australia; non-breeding visitor to Moluccas, E Lesser Sundas, Aru Is and S New Guinea.

Open scrub, dry woodlands, mallee, mulga, saltflats, waterside forests and thickets; rare in subhumid zone.

Insects, mainly caterpillars , also beetles; seeds. Forages in shrubs and on ground; flight swift and direct.

Descending low whistle  , “peeeer”.

Breeds Jun–Oct in W, Aug–Dec in E. Brood-parasitic: hosts small Australian warblers  , e.g. Redthroat (Pyrrholaemus brunneus), Speckled Warbler (P. sagittatus). Eggs  dark brown  , resemble those of P. brunneus; 20 x 14 mm. Hatchling naked, black skin; evicts host's eggs and young.