To everyone who might be concerned about a distressed bird in the big tree near the cul-de-sac. I managed to get some photos of it and have identified it as a Channel-billed cuckoo scientific name Scythrops novaehollandiae.

It is the world’s largest parasitic cuckoo measuring 56-70 cm long with a 88-107 cm wingspan and can weigh up to nearly one kilo.

Like many other cuckoo’s, the female will lay her eggs in the nest of another bird such as currawong’s, magpie’s or crow’s. Adults will pair bond for the mating season and the male will provoke the host birds to come after him and allow the female to stealthily lay her egg in their nest. Unlike many other cuckoo’s though, the young birds do not evict the host eggs, but they grow faster and demand more food and out compete the other chicks,

The juvenile is similar to the adult but has pale tips to the feathers of the wings, and the rest of the plumage is buff instead of pale grey. The bill is less massive and dirty pink in colour, and the skin around the eye is not red.

To find our more visit:

https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profiles/channel-billed-cuckoo/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel-billed_cuckoo

Kate Phillips

Science Technician