Shining Bronze Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx lucidus) [XC859755]
by Patrik \u00c5berg from Cloudy Bay road, Bruny, Tasmania, Australia (call)
Shining Bronze Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx lucidus) [XC855256]
by Peter Boesman from Taiko Camp, Chatham Island, New Zealand (song)
Nest
None. Egg(s) laid in that of the foster parents. The most common species is the Yellow Thornbill (Acanthiza nana). Domed nests are preferred. More than 65 species have been identified.
Eggs (Guide)
1; pale olive-green to bronze-brown, the color readily rubbed off; long-oval; about 18 x 12 mm. Incubation is carried out by the species whose nest has been parasitised (14 - 17 days). The preference is for nests of thornbills, gerygones and fairy-wrens.
Young
Altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 19 days.
Subspecies
Birds on Malekula I, Vanuatu, described as subspecies aeneus, but not morphologically distinct from other populations of the island region.
The following 4 subspecies are recognised:
lucidus (Gmelin, 1788) - Breeds in New Zeland and on Chatham Island, migrating to non-breeding areas in the south-western Pacific, and occurring in eastern coastal Australia and offshore islands on passage.
plagosus (Latham, 1801) - Tasmania, eastern Australia and south-western Australia, some migrating as far north as New Guinea and the Lesser Sundas in the non-breeding season. Some consider this subspecies synonmous with subspecies lucidus.
layardi Mathews, 1912 - New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands, New Hebrides, Banks and santa Cruz Islands.
harterti (Mayr, 1932) - Renell and Bellona Islands.
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
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet