Cuckoos (Cuculidae)
Black Cuckoo (Cuculus clamosus) - HBW 4, p. 553
French: Coucou criard
German: Schwarzkuckuck
Spanish: Cuco Negro
Taxonomy: Cuculus clamosus Latham, 1801, Cape of Good Hope = Cradock.
Formerly listed as C. cafer, but that name was officially suppressed, largely due to confusion with Clamator levaillantii. Birds from S Ethiopia to Uganda, W Kenya and NW Tanzania sometimes separated as “jacksoni”, but they in fact represent an intermediate or intergrade population. Two subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- gabonensis Lafresnaye, 1853 - Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria and N Zaire E to S Sudan, Uganda and W Kenya.
- clamosus Latham, 1801 - Ethiopia, E & C Kenya, Tanzania, S Zaire and Angola S to NE Namibia, Zimbabwe and E South Africa; migrates to equatorial W Africa, where recorded irregularly W to Senegambia.
- Least Concern Enlarge map
-
A rather distant individual viewed from the front Locality Vwaza Marsh Game Reserve, Northern Region, Malawi (ssp clamosus)
Greg Baker 30 October 2005 25 weeks ago 16 sec 3 -
calling in canopy Locality Suhen Forest, Central Region, Ghana (ssp gabonensis)
Martin Kennewell 7 December 2010 2 years ago 24 sec 3 -
A juvenile on a branch and flying away Locality Buhoma, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda (ssp clamosus)
Josep del Hoyo 8 September 2006 5 years ago 22 sec 2.6
-
sitting on a branch
Locality Waters Meeting Nature Reserve, Bathurst, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
Roland Bischoff 20 September 1998 2 years ago 3.5 -
Popa Falls Resort. Seen in forest near the river.
Locality Mahango Game Reserve, Caprivi Region, Namibia (ssp clamosus)
Charles Hesse 22 December 2009 3 years ago 2
-
Bird calling from nearby tree Locality Weenen, KwaZulu Natal Province, South Africa
(Monotypic species)
Roland Bischoff 15 November 2011 1 year ago 4 -
Call. KIFI (near Mahango gate). 9:07am. Locality Mahango Game Reserve, Caprivi Region, Namibia
(ssp clamosus)
Charles Hesse 20 November 2009 3 years ago 3.5
Email this page