Little bronze cuckoo

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Little bronze cuckoo
Little Bronze Cuckoo male Kobble.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Cuculiformes
Family: Cuculidae
Genus: Chalcites
Species:
C. minutillus
Binomial name
Chalcites minutillus
(Gould, 1859)

The little bronze cuckoo (Chalcites minutillus) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It was formerly placed in the genus Chrysococcyx . It is a common brood parasite of birds form the genus Geryone. This cuckoo is found in Southeast Asia, New Guinea and some parts of Australia, where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest. It is the world's smallest cuckoo. The pied bronze cuckoo was formerly considered to be a subspecies. Other common names for the little bronze cuckoo include the red-eyed bronze cuckoo and the malay green cuckoo. [2] It has 11 subspecies which are generally recognized.

Contents

Description

As the world's smallest cuckoo, the little bronze cuckoo measures 15-16 centimeters (5.9-6.3 in) in length [3] and weighs 14.5-17.0 grams (0.51-0.60 oz). The females are slightly larger than the males. [2] The generation length of the Little Bronze Cuckoo is approximately three years. [4]

The little bronze cuckoo is characterized by its bronze-green upperparts, white underparts with dark barring, and a distinctive white spot behind the eye. [5] It has a slender body and a long tail, allowing it to maneuver swiftly through dense vegetation. In flight, it is described as being direct with subtle undulation. [6] Males of this species can most easily be distinguished from females by a red orbital ring. [6] Juveniles are much less bright and may lack mottling on their flanks. [2]

The little bronze cuckoo's appearance resembles the shining bronze cuckoo, horsfield’s bronze cuckoo, the rufous-throated bronze cuckoo, the pied bronze cuckoo, the violet cuckoo, the banded bay cuckoo and juvenile brush cuckoos. [2]

Distribution and Habitat

The little bronze cuckoo's range covers Southeast Asia, New Guinea and northern and eastern Australia.

In terms of habitat, the little bronze cuckoo prefers open woodlands, forest edges, and scrubby areas with dense vegetation. [5] It is also known to live near humans in places such as villages and gardens. [7] The habitats populated by the little bronze cuckoo depends on where they are located geographically: [6]

Members of this species are often located below 500m of elevation but there are some exceptions across its range, and it has been known to occur at up to 2000 meters of elevation. [6]

Evolutionary History

A big driver of evolution in parasitic cuckoo species is the hosts available to them. Cuckoo species with many potential hosts are more likely to split off into multiple species that lay their eggs in the nests of specific hosts. The little bronze cuckoo is a good example of this because it is the brood parasitic cuckoo with the most subspecies. [8] In fact, Gerygones, their main hosts, also reflect an unusually high level of speciation which could signal an evolutionary arms race against their brood parasites. The little bronze cuckoo and Geryones have entangled evolutionary histories. [8]

Taxonomy

Synonyms for the little bronze cuckoo, Chalcites minutillus (Gould, 1857), include Chrysococcyx minutillus, Chrysococcyx rufomerus and Chrysococcyx russatus. [9] Genetic analyses have shown that it is most closely related to the white-eared bronze cuckoo (Chrysococcyx meyerii). [2]

In Australia, the subspecies C. m. russatus is genetically very similar to C. minutillus however, the genes evaluated do show some overall separation dividing C. m. russatus from the rest of its species. Specimens that are somewhere in between both subspecies have been discovered, suggesting hybridization does occur. [10] Additionally, there are also reports of C. m. russatus and  C. minutillus which describe both group laying eggs in the nests of different hosts and that their chicks look different from each other to better mimic the specific host chicks. [8] The conflicting evidence suggests both groups may be diverging into distinct species but have not yet reached this point. There is also no guarantee the situation is the same for populations elsewhere, such as in New Guinea. [10] C. m russatus  is also sometimes considered to be a synonym of C. m poecilurus but remains recognized as a distinct subspecies by the International Ornithologists' Union. [11]

The subspecies C. m salavdorii is occasionally placed with the species C. crassirostris but morphologically more closely resembles the little bronze cuckoo. [11]

The pied bronze cuckoo (Chalcites crassirostris) was formerly considered as a subspecies but differs from C. minutillus in coloration and vocalizations. [11]

There may also be an undescribed subspecies from the island of Timor. [6]

List of the eleven subspecies recognized by the International Ornithologists' Union: [11]

Behaviour

Diet

The little bronze cuckoo is insectivorous and feeds on ants, bees, sawflies, wasps, ladybugs, true bugs as well as butterflies and their caterpillars. [2] They have been observed catching insects mid-flight both from within vegetation and from the forest floor. This species often hunts alone but has also been seen hunting in groups with as many as 5 birds participating. [7]

Vocalizations

The little bronze cuckoo has territorial vocalizations that are often called from an unobstructed vantage point. These calls consist of 3-5 repeating notes that lower in pitch towards the end. There are some variants: the repeated notes can sound like "rhew", "eug" or be a screeching trill. The calls of individuals in Wallacea have not been described [2] . There are also more variants of these calls specific to subspecies or varying by geographic region [6] .

Superb fairywrens, common hosts of the little bronze cuckoo, will call to their eggs before they hatch to teach them vocalizations that are used to separate them from brood parasites post-hatching. Cuckoo nestlings are not able to replicate the password calls as well as their nestmates, consequently the host can identify and reject them [12] .

Breeding

The little bronze cuckoo is a polygamist species, which is unusual among birds. One explanation for the behavior is that members of this species do not raise their young and they have dense populations so finding multiple mates is not an issue. [13] The little bronze cuckoo also lays its eggs within a large time window, anytime between the morning and afternoon. This is though to make it harder for the host to anticipate the visit of a cuckoo to guard their nest against. [14] Male cuckoos also occupy a territory during the breeding season to call for females. Once they find a female, the courtship ritual of male cuckoos includes feeding her. [3]

Geryone dorsalis , a common host for the little bronze cuckoo, is known to dive-bomb adult little bronze cuckoos. [7]

Brood Parasitism

As a brood parasite, the little bronze cuckoo lays its eggs in nests constructed and tended to by other bird species. Their main hosts are birds from genus Geryone, but they can also parasitize multiple species of small passerines. Geryone species are ideal hosts for the little bronze cuckoo because the hatchlings of both species resemble each other, and the hosts construct dark nesting cavities which hide the cuckoo eggs. The host species available are not consistent across the little bronze cuckoo’s range and they have a long list of potential hosts including nine Geryone species and hosts from other genera. [6]

When the little bronze cuckoo lays its eggs in a host’s nest, it often throws out an egg already occupying the nest. It also occasionally lays eggs in a nest before the host does. [13] While hosts do not throw out cuckoo eggs, [15] Geryone magnirostris and Geryone levigaster have been documented rejecting little bronze cuckoo hatchlings. [6]

Cryptic Eggs

Unlike some species of cuckoo who have evolved eggs that mimic their host’s, the little bronze cuckoo has dark green or brown eggs which do not look like host eggs and instead blend in with the nesting material. These cryptic eggs are not meant to protect unhatched cuckoos from their hosts, rather they prevent other cuckoo species from throwing them out of the nest. Because 1 in 3 parasitized host nests will be parasitized by a second cuckoo, unconcealed eggs are at risk of being discovered and removed. [15]

Migration

There remains some uncertainty on the issue of migration for the little bronze cuckoo. Some authors report that this species migrates to New Guinea and Wallacea, while others say there is no credible evidence that they migrate at all. [6] In Australia the little bronze cuckoo has been recorded travelling through the Torres Straight and for this reason is reported to occasionally migrate. The subspecies C. m minutillus and C. m barnardi, may be partial migrants. C. m russatus, C. m crassirostris and C. m poecilurus have also been names in more ambiguous examples of possible migration. The difficulties with finding evidence to resolve this issue are made worse by the morphological similarities between subspecies. [6]

Conservation

The IUCN places the little bronze cuckoo at least concern worldwide. This species is often reported to be common, with some regional exceptions. The population also does not seem to be decreasing. Despite the population size remaining unknown, it is believed to be sizeable. [4] However, there are some isolated declines, for example at Holmes Jungle the population is reported to have dropped by half. They are also rare on Borneo and Java. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuckoo</span> Family of birds

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian koel</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Himalayan cuckoo</span> Species of bird

Cuculus saturatus, better well known as the Himalayan cuckoo or Oriental cuckoo, is a brooding parasitic bird that is part of the Cuculidae family. The species breeds from the Himalayas eastward to southern China and Taiwan. It migrates to southeast Asia and the Greater Sunda Islands for the winter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sahul brush cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The Sahul brush cuckoo, formerly known as the brush cuckoo, is a member of the cuckoo family. It is native to Malesia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and northern and eastern Australia. It is a grey-brown bird with a buff breast. Its call is a familiar sound of the Australian and Indonesian bush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buff-rumped thornbill</span> Species of bird

The buff-rumped thornbill is a small passerine bird species belonging to the genus Acanthiza, most of which are endemic to Australia. Measuring 8–10 cm in length, this unassuming thornbill is characterised by its plain greenish brown upperparts and very pale-yellow underparts, with a distinctive buff coloured rump. The tail has a broad, blackish band with a paler tip. Adults possess white irises, whilst juveniles have dark eyes. The buff-rumped thornbill is one of 14 species within the genus Acanthiza genus, which are recognisable by their thin, pointed bill. Species are unique in their plumage and distribution. Despite their shared name, the genus is not related to hummingbirds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horsfield's bronze cuckoo</span> Species of bird

Horsfield's bronze cuckoo is a small cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. Its size averages 22g and is distinguished by its green and bronze iridescent colouring on its back and incomplete brown barring from neck to tail. Horsfield's bronze cuckoo can be destiguished from other bronze cuckoos by its white eyebrow and brown eye stripe. The Horsfield's bronze cuckoo is common throughout Australia preferring the drier open woodlands away from forested areas. This species was formerly placed in the genus Chrysococcyx.

The pied bronze cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found on the Tayandu Islands, the Kai Islands and the Tanimbar Islands, all of which are part of the Maluku Islands in Southeast Asia. It was formerly treated as conspecific with the little bronze cuckoo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African emerald cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The African emerald cuckoo is a species of cuckoo that is native to Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-throated cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The yellow-throated cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is distributed across the African tropical rainforest. It is threatened by deforestation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shining bronze cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The shining bronze cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae, found in Australia, Indonesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. It was formerly placed in the genus Chrysococcyx.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-eared cuckoo</span> Species of bird

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. This species was formerly placed in the genus Chrysococcyx.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violet cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The violet cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pallid cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The pallid cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is the only species placed in the genus Heteroscenes. It is found in Australia, with some migration to the islands of Timor and Papua New Guinea. It is between 28 and 33 cm in size, with distinctive markings such as a dark bill, a dark eye with a gold eye-ring and olive grey feet which differentiate it from other cuckoos. The pallid cuckoo is similar in appearance to the oriental cuckoo, with barred immature pallid cuckoos being often mistaken for oriental cuckoos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Large hawk-cuckoo</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pavonine cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The pavonine cuckoo is a Neotropical cuckoo with a long graduated tail and a short crest. It is one of three species of Neotropical cuckoo which are known to be brood parasites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific long-tailed cuckoo</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuckoo-finch</span> Species of bird

The cuckoo-finch, also known as the parasitic weaver or cuckoo weaver, is a small passerine bird now placed in the family Viduidae with the indigobirds and whydahs. It occurs in grassland in Africa south of the Sahara. The male is mainly yellow and green while the female is buff with dark streaks. They lay their eggs in the nests of other birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mangrove gerygone</span> Species of bird

The mangrove gerygone is a species of bird in the Australian warbler family Acanthizidae. The species is also known as the mangrove warbler. The species is thought to form a superspecies with the closely related fan-tailed gerygone of Melanesia and the Australian western gerygone. There are three subspecies of mangrove gerygone, G. l. pallida, found in southern New Guinea, the nominate race G. l. levigaster, which is found from coastal Western Australia to coastal north Queensland and is known as Buff-breasted Flyeater, and G. l. cantator, which is found from coastal Queensland to New South Wales. The species is uncommon in New Guinea and has suffered some declines due to mangrove clearances but is not considered threatened by the IUCN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oriental cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The Oriental cuckoo or Horsfields cuckoo is a bird belonging to the genus Cuculus in the cuckoo family Cuculidae. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the Himalayan cuckoo, with the name 'Oriental cuckoo' used for the combined species. Differences in voice and size suggest that it should be treated as a separate species. The binomial name Cuculus horsfieldi has often been used instead of Cuculus optatus, but is now usually considered to be a junior synonym.

<i>Chalcites</i> Genus of birds

Chalcites is a genus of Australasian cuckoos in the family Cuculidae. They were formerly placed in the genus Chrysococcyx.

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2016). "Chalcites minutillus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T61433519A95233230. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T61433519A95233230.en .
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Erritzøe, Johannes; Mann, Clive; Brammer, Frederik; Fuller, Richard (29 March 2012). Cuckoos of the World. A&C Black. pp. 369–372. ISBN   9781408142677.
  3. 1 2 Payne, Robert B.; Sorenson, Michael D. (2005). The cuckoos. Bird families of the world. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-850213-5. OCLC   56652556.
  4. 1 2 IUCN (2020-08-12). Chalcites minutillus: BirdLife International: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T61433519A181643543 (Report). International Union for Conservation of Nature. doi:10.2305/iucn.uk.2020-3.rlts.t61433519a181643543.en.
  5. 1 2 Dutson, G. C. L. (2011). Birds of Melanesia: Bismarcks, Solomons, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia. Bloomsbury Publishing.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Kirwan, Guy M.; Payne, Robert B. (2023). "Little Bronze-Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx minutillus), version 2.0". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.libcuc1.02species_shared.bow.project_name (inactive 1 November 2024). ISSN   2771-3105.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  7. 1 2 3 Trainor, Colin (20 January 2007). "Birds of Damar Island, Banda Sea, Indonesia". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 127– via Research Gate.
  8. 1 2 3 Langmore, N. E.; Grealy, A.; Noh, H.-J.; Medina, I.; Skeels, A.; Grant, J.; Murray, K. D.; Kilner, R. M.; Holleley, C. E. (2024-05-31). "Coevolution with hosts underpins speciation in brood-parasitic cuckoos". Science. 384 (6699): 1030–1036. Bibcode:2024Sci...384.1030L. doi:10.1126/science.adj3210. ISSN   0036-8075. PMID   38815013.
  9. ↑ Hoyo, Josep del; Collar, Nigel James; Christie, David A.; Elliott, Andrew; Fishpool, Lincoln D. C. (2014). Illustrated checklist of the birds of the world. Handbook of the birds of the world, BirdLife international. Barcelona: Lynx. ISBN   978-84-96553-94-1.
  10. 1 2 Joseph, Leo; Zeriga, Tanya; Adcock, Gregory J.; Langmore, Naomi E. (22 December 2016). "Phylogeography and taxonomy of the Little Bronze-Cuckoo ( Chalcites minutillus ) in Australia's monsoon tropics". Emu - Austral Ornithology. 111 (2): 113–119. doi:10.1071/MU10050. ISSN   0158-4197.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2024). "Turacos, bustards, cuckoos, mesites, sandgrouse". IOC World Bird List Version 14.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  12. ↑ Colombelli-Négrel, Diane; Hauber, Mark E.; Robertson, Jeremy; Sulloway, Frank J.; Hoi, Herbert; Griggio, Matteo; Kleindorfer, Sonia (20 November 2012). "Embryonic Learning of Vocal Passwords in Superb Fairy-Wrens Reveals Intruder Cuckoo Nestlings". Current Biology. 22 (22): 2155–2160. Bibcode:2012CBio...22.2155C. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2012.09.025. ISSN   0960-9822. PMID   23142041.
  13. 1 2 Noh, Hee-Jin; Neaves, Linda; Grealy, Alicia; Langmore, Naomi E (20 May 2024). "Molecular sibship reconstruction reveals a promiscuous mating system in brood parasitic little bronze-cuckoos (Chalcites minutillus)". Behavioral Ecology. 35 (4). doi:10.1093/beheco/arae041 . Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  14. ↑ Soler, Manuel, ed. (2017). Avian Brood Parasitism: Behaviour, Ecology, Evolution and Coevolution. Fascinating Life Sciences (1st ed. 2017 ed.). Cham: Springer International Publishing : Imprint: Springer. ISBN   978-3-319-73138-4.
  15. 1 2 Gloag, Ros; Keller, Laurie-Anne; Langmore, Naomi E. (2014-10-07). "Cryptic cuckoo eggs hide from competing cuckoos". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 281 (1792): 20141014. doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.1014. ISSN   0962-8452. PMC   4150317 . PMID   25122227.
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