At Lake Mburo, Uganda

The Diederik Cuckoo^[2] (Chrysococcyx caprius), formerly Dideric Cuckoo or Didric Cuckoo, is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis, and the Hoatzin.

It is a very common resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara Desert. It is a short-distance seasonal migrant, moving with the rains. It is a solitary bird, found in open woodland, savanna and riverside bushes. It has been recorded as far north as Cyprus (1982).

The Diederik Cuckoo is a brood parasite. It lays a single egg mostly in the nests of weavers, especially the Village Weaver and the bishops in the genus Euplectes. For example, it has been recorded in Red-collared Widowbirds.

The Diederik Cuckoo is a smallish cuckoo at 18 to 20 cm. Adult males are green above with copper-sheened areas on the back and whitish underparts. They have a broken white eyestripe, a green moustauchial stripe, and green outer tail feathers with small white spots.

Females show more copper above, and have coppery barring on the flanks. The underparts are often washed brownish. Juveniles are more copper-coloured above and browner below than the females, and the flank markings are brown blotches.

The Diederik Cuckoo takes a variety of insects and caterpillars. It is a noisy species, with the persistent and loud deed-deed-deed-deed-er-ick call from which it gets its name. Usually four clear, roughly identical, notes followed by a little twitter.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chrysococcyx caprius

• Birds of The Gambia by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, ISBN 1-873403-32-1