Family Cuckoos (Cuculidae)
Least Concern
Long-tailed Koel (Urodynamis taitensis)
Taxonomy
French: Coucou de Nouvelle-Zélande German: Langschwanzkoel Spanish: Koel colilargo
Other common names:
Long-tailed Cuckoo
Taxonomy:
Cuculus taitensis
Sparrman
, 1787,Tahiti
.Distribution:
Breeds in New Zealand, and on Great Barrier I, Little Barrier I, Kapiti I and Stewart I. Migrates to Oceania, occurring from Palau, Carolines and Marshalls SE through Fiji, Tonga and Samoa to Cook, Society, Austral, Marquesas and Pitcairn Is; also Bismarck Archipelago, Solomons, Vanuatu, Norfolk I, Lord Howe I and elsewhere in SW Pacific.
Descriptive notes
38–42 cm; 120 g. Adult male long-tailed, entirely rufous-barred brown above, head blackish with rufous streaks, white streak above eye; below, white to rufous with... read more
Voice
Whistled “ouit-ouit”, also a magpie-like chatter and loud shrieks; sometimes several... read more
Habitat
Forest, scrub.
Food and feeding
Insects, also crabs, lizards, eggs, nestling birds; preys on nestlings even when in non-breeding area (Norfolk I).
Breeding
Breeding season Nov–Dec. Brood-parasitic: hosts songbirds, including Yellowhead (Mohoua novaeseelandiae), Whitehead (M.... read more
Movements
Long-distance migrant, moving seasonally from New Zealand to Melanesia, Micronesia and (mainly)... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened. Populations of present species are decreasing in numbers with the loss of forest breeding habitats and also, in tandem, the reduction in populations... read more
Formerly placed in genus Eudynamys, but genetically distinct#R. Monotypic.