Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes. The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals, and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separated as distinct families, the Centropodidae and Crotophagidae, respectively. The cuckoo order Cuculiformes is one of three that make up the Otidimorphae, the other two being the turacos and the bustards. The family Cuculidae contains 150 species, which are divided into 33 genera.
The Asian koel is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. It is found in the Indian Subcontinent, China, and Southeast Asia. It forms a superspecies with the closely related black-billed koels, and Pacific koels which are sometimes treated as subspecies. The Asian koel like many of its related cuckoo kin is a brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of crows and other hosts, who raise its young. They are unusual among the cuckoos in being largely frugivorous as adults. The name koel is echoic in origin with several language variants. The bird is a widely used symbol in Indian and Nepali poetry.
The guira cuckoo is a gregarious bird found widely in open and semi-open habitats of northeastern, eastern and southern Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and northeastern Argentina. It is the only species placed in the genus Guira.
The common hawk-cuckoo, popularly known as the brainfever bird, is a medium-sized cuckoo resident in the Indian subcontinent. It bears a close resemblance to the Shikra, even in its style of flying and landing on a perch. The resemblance to hawks gives this group the generic name of hawk-cuckoo and like many other cuckoos these are brood parasites, laying their eggs in nests of babblers. During their breeding season in summer males produce loud, repetitive three note calls that are well-rendered as brain-fever, the second note being longer and higher pitched. These notes rise to a crescendo before ending abruptly and repeat after a few minutes; the calling may go on through the day, well after dusk and before dawn.
The brush cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo family.
The true koels, Eudynamys, are a genus of cuckoos from Asia, Australia and the Pacific. They are large sexually dimorphic cuckoos that eat fruits and insects and have loud distinctive calls. They are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species.
The white-crowned cuckoo or white-crowned koel is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It was originally described by Salomon Müller as Cuculus leucolophus. It was later placed in the monotypic genus Caliechthrus, but most taxonomists place it the genus Cacomantis because it has a similar song to other cuckoos in this genus and it is genetically similar to the pallid cuckoo. It is found in New Guinea and neighbouring Salawati Island.
The black coucal is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It has a wide distribution in Africa south of the Sahara.
The African emerald cuckoo is a species of cuckoo that is native to Africa.
The black-eared cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. Found across Australia, it migrates to eastern Indonesia and southern New Guinea. They are usually observed by themselves or in a pair as they don't raise their own young, rather they leave eggs in another species nest to be raised by host.
The Sulawesi cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is often known as the Sulawesi hawk-cuckoo but appears not to be related to the other hawk-cuckoos. It is endemic to Sulawesi Island in Indonesia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
The African cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa where it migrates within the continent, generally arriving and breeding in any one locality during the rainy season. A fairly common bird, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The large hawk-cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It has a wide breeding distribution from temperate Asia along the Himalayas extending to East Asia. Many populations winter further south. They are known for their loud and repetitive calls which are similar to that of the common hawk-cuckoo but do not rise in crescendo. They are also somewhat larger and adults can be readily told apart from the smaller common hawk-cuckoo by the black patch on the chin. They are brood-parasites of babblers and laughing-thrushes.
The black-billed koel is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is endemic to forest and woodland on the Indonesian islands of Sulawesi, Sula, Banggai, Togian and other smaller nearby islands. It has often been considered conspecific with E. scolopaceus, but they are increasingly treated as separate species. Unlike the black-billed koel, all other members of the common koel complex have a pale bill. The black billed koel voice a typical "koel!" call, or a short series of rising and falling "woo" notes.
The Pacific long-tailed cuckoo, also known as the long-tailed cuckoo, long-tailed koel, sparrow hawk, home owl, screecher, screamer or koekoeā in Māori, is a species of the Cuculidae bird family. It is a migratory bird that spends spring and summer in New Zealand, its only breeding place, and spends winter in the Pacific islands. It is a brood parasite, laying its eggs in the nests of other bird species and leaving them to raise its chicks.
The thick-billed cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is monotypic within the genus Pachycoccyx. It can easily be distinguished from other brood parasitic cuckoo species by its very thick bill, which is shaped in a rather hawk-like fashion.
The channel-billed cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is monotypic within the genus Scythrops. The species is the largest brood parasite in the world, and the largest cuckoo.
The Pacific koel, also known as the eastern koel or formerly common koel, is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. In Australia, it is colloquially known as the rainbird or stormbird, as its call is usually more prevalent before or during stormy weather.
The square-tailed drongo-cuckoo is a species of cuckoo that resembles a black drongo. In the past the species S. lugubris included the subspecies dicruroides which is now treated as a separate species the fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo. The species in its restricted sense is found along the Himalayas extending east into Southeast Asia. The calls are series of piercing sharp whistles rising in pitch but shrill and choppily delivered.
The fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo is a species of cuckoo that resembles a black drongo. It is found resident mainly in peninsular India in hill forests although some specimens are known from the Himalayan foothills. It can be easily distinguished by its straight beak and the white barred vent. It has a deeply forked tail often having a white spot on the back of the head. The song has been described as a series of 5 or 6 whistling "pip-pip-pip-pip-pip-" notes rising in pitch with each "pip".
