Shining Bronze-Cuckoo
Chrysococcyx lucidus
About This Species
A brood-parasitic cuckoo of forest edges, scrub and gardens across Australasia and the Pacific, with metallic green upperparts and a barred white underside that make it easy to miss against dappled foliage. Listen for its rising, whistled call, often given from a high, exposed perch in spring and early summer when birds arrive to breed. It is most often located by voice before it is seen, and by watching small host songbirds mobbing an intruder near their nest.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Watch from a distance with binoculars rather than approaching a calling bird, since flushing it near a host nest can draw attention to that nest and increase the risk of predation for the host species.
- Wildlife protection law varies across its range, so check local rules on disturbing breeding birds and their hosts before spending long periods near any nest site.
- Keep well back if you see mobbing behaviour, as this usually means a nest is close by.
LCAvesCuculiformesCuculidae
Seasonal Activity
163,090 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Cuculiformes
- Family
- Cuculidae
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.