Food
Insects and their larvae, mainly procured in trees and shrubs.
Voice
A long, descending, rippling trill, loud, clear and ringing. Also a series of 3 to 6 descending notes like a slower, drawn out version of the trill, 'tiew-tiew-tiew-tiew...'.
Little Bronze Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx minutillus) [XC293717]
by Benj Smelt for MNS from Mudgeeraba, Queensland, Australia (call)
Little Bronze Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx minutillus) [XC738331]
by Lim Ying Hien from Sekinchan, Selangor, Malaysia (alarm call, call, song)
Nest
None. Egg(s) laid in that of the foster parents. The most common species include the warblers (gerygones).
Eggs (Guide)
1; slightly lustrous, bronze-brown to buff-olive, peppered all over but particularly at the larger end with tiny darker specks; long-oval; about 19 x 13 mm. Incubation is carried out by the species whose nest has been parasitised. The preference is for nests gerygones and relatives.
Young
Altricial, nidicolous.
Subspecies
BirdLife International retain Little Bronze-Cuckoo (Chalcites minutillus) (Payne, 1997) and Gould's Bronze-Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx russatus) (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) as separate species contra Christidis and Boles (2008) who treat Gould's Bronze-Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx russatus) as a subspecies of Little Bronze-Cuckoo (Chalcites minutillus).
Chrysococcyx minutillus and Chrysococcyx rufomerus (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) have been lumped into Chrysococcyx minutillus following Payne (1997 and 2005).
The following 13 subspecies are recognised:
minutillus (Gould, 1859) - Northern Australia, some perhaps migrating to the Lesser Sundas, southern Moluccas, Peleng Island and New Guinea in the non-breeding season.
barnardi Mathews, 1912 - North-eastern Nsouth-western and south-eastern Qld, migrating to northern Qld and southern New Guinea.
albifrons (Junge, 1938) - Sumatra and Java.
cleis Parker, 1981 - Northern and eastern Borneo.
peninsularis Parker, SA, 1981 - Malay Peninsula.
aheneus (Junge, 1938) - South-eastern Borneo and southern Philippines. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Gould's Bronze-Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx russatus).
jungei (Stresemann, 1938) - Sulawesi, Madu and Flores. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Gould's Bronze-Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx russatus).
rufomerus Hartert, 1900 - Lesser Sundas (Romang, Kisar, Leti, Moa, Sermata, Damar). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Green-cheeked Bronze-Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx rufomerus).
crassirostris (Salvadori, 1878) - Moluccas (Tayandu, Kai) and Tanimbar Is (Yamdena, Larat). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Pied Bronze-cuckoo (Chalcites crassirostris).
misoriensis (Salvadori, 1876) - Lowlands on northern coast of New Guinea, and islands off eastern, northern and north-western coasts. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Gould's Bronze-Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx russatus).
poecilurus Gray, GR, 1862 - Lowlands on southern coast of New Guinea, and islands off western and southern coasts including Misool.
russatus Gould, 1868 - Northern and eastern Queensland (Cape York along eastern coast). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Gould's Bronze-Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx russatus).
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