Black Cuckooshrike ( Campephaga flava, family: Campephagidae)

black cuckooshire kruger national park birds The Black Cuckooshrike (Latin name Campephaga flava) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 538 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 733 also a picture of the Black Cuckooshrike on page 705. The Black Cuckooshrike belongs to the family of birds classified as Campephagidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Black Cuckooshrike is also known by these other names: Eastern Black Cuckooshrike.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Black Cuckooshrike is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.

In terms of distribution of the Black Cuckooshrike in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Black Cuckooshrike : see above distribution map.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

The Black Cuckooshrike is a smallish bird but somewhat larger than a house sparrow. The height of the Black Cuckooshrike is about 22 cms and its weight is about 32 gms

You will find that the male Black Cuckooshrike plumage and colours are different to that of the female Black Cuckooshrike

  • Head is black.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is black.
  • Back is black.
  • Legs are black.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Black Cuckooshrike feeds on tree trunks and foliage mainly

Invertebrates

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Black Cuckooshrike is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Campephaga flava will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Black Cuckooshrike is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are green in colour and number between 1 to 3

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Black Cuckooshrike are: woodlands

You will normally see the Black Cuckooshrike in pairs or flocks and not as single birds.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Umthethi/Usinga Olumnyama

Zulu ... iNhlangu

Afrikaans ...Swartkatakoeroe

German ... Kuckuckswrger

Portuguese ... Lagarteiro-preto

French ... chenilleur paulettes jaunes

Dutch ... Kaapse Rupsvogel

First bird in list | Previous bird viewed | Next KNP bird | Last bird in list

For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 538

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za