Cuckoos (Cuculidae)

Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis) - HBW 4, p. 561

French: Coucou à éventail German: Fächerschwanzkuckuck Spanish: Cuco Flabeliforme
Other common names: Fan-tailed Brush Cuckoo, Ash-coloured Cuckoo

Taxonomy: Cuculus flabelliformis Latham, 1801, Sydney area, New South Wales.
Sometimes placed in Cuculus. Species formerly listed as C. pyrrophanus (or erroneously as C. pyrrhophanus), due to confusion as to which form had been the original model for the painting used as the basis of the name flabelliformis. Five subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

excitus Rothschild & Hartert, 1907 - mountains of New Guinea.
flabelliformis (Latham, 1801) - E Australia from Cape York to SE Australia and Tasmania; also SW Western Australia.
pyrrophanus (Vieillot, 1817) - New Caledonia and Loyalty Is.

See all 5 subspecies

excitus Rothschild & Hartert, 1907 - mountains of New Guinea.
flabelliformis (Latham, 1801) - E Australia from Cape York to SE Australia and Tasmania; also SW Western Australia.
pyrrophanus (Vieillot, 1817) - New Caledonia and Loyalty Is.
schistaceigularis Sharpe, 1900 - Vanuatu.
simus (Peale, 1848) - Fiji.

Least Concern

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15 photos

Fan-tailed cuckoo call for mate. Locality Yanchep National Park, Western Australia, Australia
Margaret Leggoe 15 July 2011 12 weeks ago 4.2
adult bird perched on branch Locality Trevallyn Recreational Area, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia (ssp flabelliformis)
Dirk Tomsa 3 October 2009 1 year ago 4.2
A bird resting in a tree. Locality Shellharbour, New South Wales, Australia
Bogdan Krajewski 6 August 2011 1 year ago 4.2
Juvenile resting after meal. Locality Dayboro, Queensland, Australia (ssp flabelliformis)
Tom Tarrant 14 January 2003 4 years ago 4
Young adult resting after feeding on hairy-caterpillars. Locality Dayboro, Queensland, Australia (ssp flabelliformis)
Tom Tarrant 14 January 2003 4 years ago 4
Juvenile fan-tailed cuckoo Locality Kambah Pool Reserve, Kambah, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Margaret Leggoe 7 January 2011 2 years ago 3.9
Fan-tailed cuckoo. Locality Yanchep National Park, Western Australia, Australia
Margaret Leggoe 15 July 2011 12 weeks ago 3.8
A bird perched on a twig. Locality Woodlands Historic Park, Oaklands Junction, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (ssp flabelliformis) (Monotypic species)
Nick Talbot 21 May 2011 1 year ago 3.7
Perched in a tree at Baldwin's Swamp Locality Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia
Lindsay Hansch 8 July 2009 2 years ago 3.7
Close-up of a bird perching in a tree. Locality Woodlands Historic Park, Oaklands Junction, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (ssp flabelliformis)
Nick Talbot 21 May 2011 1 year ago 3.6
Perched in the shade Locality Onkaparinga River Recreation Park, South Australia, Australia
Peter Strauss 17 April 2011 2 years ago 3.5
A bird perching in a tree. Locality Woodlands Historic Park, Oaklands Junction, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (ssp flabelliformis)
Nick Talbot 21 May 2011 1 year ago 3.4
Adult responding to imitation of it's call Locality Lake Samsonvale, Queensland, Australia (ssp flabelliformis)
Tom Tarrant 30 May 2009 3 years ago 3.2
Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis)singing Locality Binna Burra, Lamington National Park, Queensland, Australia
cel_polo 19 October 2011 1 year ago 3
Lateral view of a perched adult. Locality Stanthorpe, Queensland, Australia
Ken Havard 17 April 2005 2 years ago 3