Uncommon breeding migrant. Arrives in August in northern Australia and October in the south-east. Departs January - February from the south-east and March - April from the north.
Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste (NB).
Vagrant to New Caledonia, New Zealand.
Breeds in Sulawesi, Buru and Flores, and northern and eastern Australia; rarely occurs in Tasmania. Winters in Moluccas, Lesser Sundas, Aru Is, New Guinea and Bismarck Archipelago.
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Status LC
Breeding migrant from Indonesia and New Guinea. Arrives August (north-east) - October (south-east) and departs January (south-east) - March (north).
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.
Habits
Singly, in pairs or small flocks.
Food
Chiefly insects, native fruits and berries.
Voice
Loud raucous deliberately spaced shout, 'awk', 'wark' or 'kawk-awk-awk-awk' - the first syllable loud and pronounced, the remainder quickening and lower in pitch or rising. Uttered from perch or in flight, both day and night.
Channel-billed Cuckoo (Scythrops novaehollandiae) [XC841432]
by Ken Tay from Dickinson Reserve Playground (near Kew), City of Boroondara, Victoria, Australia (call)
Channel-billed Cuckoo (Scythrops novaehollandiae) [XC602312]
by Ken Tay from Nudgee Beach, Brisbane City, Queensland, Australia (flight call)
Nest
None. Eggs laid in the nest of a host. The main hosts are currawongs, crows and ravens.
Eggs (Guide)
Usually 1 - 2; slightly glossy, dull white to yellowish or reddish brown, spotted and blotched with light to mid-brown and lavender; rounded-oval; about 43 x 29 mm.
Young
Altricial, nidicolous.
Subspecies
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
novaehollandiae Latham, 1790 - Northern and eastern subcoastal Australia, wintering in New Guinea and nearby islands, and the Moluccas.
fordi Mason, IJ, 1996 - Sulawesi, including Banggai and Tukangbesi Islands.
schoddei Mason, IJ, 1996 - New Britain and Duke of York Island and possibly elsewhere in the Bismarck Archaepelago.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9