There are 11 cuckoos in Australia, 4 of them being Bronze-cuckoos. Horsfield’s and Shining Bronze-cuckoos occur in the Surf Coast. Like other cuckoos, a single egg is laid into the nest of another bird, especially the Blue-wren, Thornbill and White-fronted Chat. The female cuckoo removes one of the host’s eggs before laying her own, leaving the host parents to incubate the cuckoo egg for 12 days. The baby cuckoo will force the other eggs or nestlings out of the nest. The host bird then feeds the young cuckoo in the nest and after it fledges.

As adults, they eat mainly insects and their larvae, especially hairy caterpillars. Their call is a descending, high-pitched whistle “tseeeeuw”.

Size: 15 - 17 cm

Photos and Illustration: Mark Trinham