Black cuckoo

The black cuckoo, native to sub-Saharan Africa, is a captivating bird with two recognized subspecies: Cuculus clamosus clamosus and Cuculus clamosus gabonensis. This medium-sized bird exhibits slight variations in appearance depending on the subspecies. One subspecies resides year-round in Central Africa, while the other is migratory, breeding in Southern Africa and then traveling to Central, Eastern, and Western Africa.

Despite its extensive range, the black cuckoo is not endangered and is classified as a species of "least concern" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

You can find this bird in diverse habitats such as acacia woodlands, thickets, riverside woodlands, plantations, and even among village trees, though it avoids dense forests. Its diet primarily includes hairy caterpillars, but it also consumes termites, ants, beetles, grasshoppers, other insects, and occasionally birds' eggs and nestlings.

One of the most intriguing aspects of the black cuckoo is its breeding behavior. It is a brood parasite, meaning it lays its eggs in the nests of other bird species, particularly bushshrikes such as the tropical boubou and the crimson-breasted shrike. The cuckoo chick hatches before the host's eggs and ejects them from the nest. It fledges within sixteen days and continues to be fed by the foster parents for about three more weeks before becoming independent.