Channel-billed cuckoo
Channel-billed cuckoo
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Scythrops novaehollandiae
You're lying in your tent, drifting off to sleep, when the bush erupts with a raucous call, rising to a very loud shout! No, it's not the campers next door, it's the channel-billed cuckoo, well hidden until it utters its startling call, either perched on a branch or flying past your tent.
Shy birds, channel-billed cuckoos roost and feed high in the treetops. Recognisable by their toucan-like bill, they grow to 67cm. Like most cuckoos, they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds (e.g. currawongs, magpies, crows), which then raise the cuckoo chicks.
A summer visitor from Indonesia and New Guinea, the channel-billed cuckoo arrives in northern and eastern Australia around August-September, and departs March-April.
Last updated: 25 August 2006