Pallid Cuckoo
A species of Typical Cuckoos Scientific name : Cacomantis pallidus Genus : Typical Cuckoos
Pallid Cuckoo, A species of Typical Cuckoos
Botanical name: Cacomantis pallidus
Genus: Typical Cuckoos
Content
Description General Info
Description
Characteristics of the appearance of the pallid cuckoo include: a dark bill, a dark eye with a gold eye-ring, a shadowy dark mark from the eye down the neck, a white (or buff) mark on the nape, olive grey feet and prominent white (or buff) toothing along the tail. In flight, there are conspicuous white and dark bars across the long tail. Its silhouette resembles a falcon and often triggers alarm calls from passerines. The pallid cuckoo can have various morphs including light rufous morph or dark rufous morph. In adult males the upperparts including head and neck are grey-brown and have large spots on wing-coverts. In adult females the light-rufous morph is similar to the adult male however with the dark rufous morph the hind neck patch extends onto mantle and it has barring on the chest. A distinguishing feature of the family Cuculidae are the feet, which are zygodactyl, meaning that the two inner toes point forward and the two outer point backward. 
Size
32 cm
Feeding Habits
Pallid Cuckoo preys mostly on insects, favoring caterpillars, and employs a strategy of descending from perches to snatch prey from vegetation or ground. It has a peculiar preference for hairy caterpillars.
Dite type
Insectivorous
General Info
Distribution Area
The pallid cuckoo is widely distributed throughout mainland Australia and Tasmania. It spends the winter months in central inland Australia and the Northern Territory. The cuckoo then migrates to South East Australia's coastal region and Tasmania, arriving generally around September or October, sometimes earlier. It has also been observed that migration occasionally occurs to the islands of Timor and Papua New Guinea in the winter months. It is a rare vagrant to New Zealand. The pallid cuckoo has been observed in various different habitats such as in woodland, shrubland, mangrove forest, pastoral country, farmland, golf courses and gardens. However it prefers lightly timbered country with trees and shrubs and a sparse under-story where it can best hunt for prey.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Cuckoos and Relatives Family
Cuckoos Genus
Typical Cuckoos Species
Pallid Cuckoo 
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