Diderick Cuckoo ( Chrysococcyx caprius, family: cuculidae)
Birds & Birding in the Kruger National Park South Africa. In Roberts 6 this bird was called Diederik Cuckoo
The Diderick Cuckoo (Latin name Chrysococcyx caprius) is described in
Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique
Roberts number of 386 and you will find a full description of this bird
on page 214 also a picture of the Diderick Cuckoo on page 208. The
Diderick Cuckoo belongs to the family of birds classified as cuculidae.
According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the
Diderick Cuckoo is also known by these other names: Didric Cuckoo,
Dideric Cuckoo.
In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Diderick Cuckoo was called the Diederik Cuckoo
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 Diderick Cuckoo is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common summer visitor
In terms of distribution of the Diderick Cuckoo in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Diderick Cuckoo : see above distribution map.
The Diderick Cuckoo.
Identification assistance for this avian species ...
The Diderick Cuckoo is a smallish bird but somewhat larger than a house sparrow. The height of the Diderick Cuckoo is about 20 cms and its weight is about 35 gms
You will find that the male Diderick Cuckoo plumage and colours are different to that of the female Diderick Cuckoo
- Head is green.
- Eye is red.
- Bill is black.
- Throat is white.
- Back is green.
- Legs are grey.
This bird has normally proportioned leg length.
Main diet items for this bird ...
The Diderick Cuckoo feeds on the ground and in foliage or on a tree trunk
Invertebrates
Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...
The Diderick Cuckoo takes on more than a single mate (it is bigamous).
The nesting habit of Diderick Cuckoo is to use the nest of another bird. The surrogate family then raise the chicks. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 20 eggs per season different hosts
Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...
The preferred habitats for Diderick Cuckoo are: woodlands
You will not see Diderick Cuckoo in flocks. The bird prefers to act singly or in pairs.
Names of this avian species in other languages ...
Xhosa ... Umgcibilitshane
Zulu ... uNononekhanda
Afrikaans ...Diederikkie
German ... Diderikkuckuck, Goldkuckuck
Portuguese ... Cuco-bronzeado-maior
French ... Coucou didric
Dutch ... Goudkoekoek, Diederikkoekoek
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 ... 386
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
