The fan-tailed cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Australia, Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.
Region
Australasia and southwest Pacific
Typical Environment
Occurs widely across Australia and Tasmania, extending to New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, and New Caledonia. It inhabits a variety of wooded habitats including eucalypt forest, rainforest edges, coastal scrub, mangroves, plantations, and well-treed parks. In southern Australia many birds move northward in winter, while tropical populations are largely resident. It is a rare visitor to New Zealand, mostly as an occasional vagrant.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2000 m
Climate Zone
Other
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The fan-tailed cuckoo is a brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of smaller passerines such as thornbills, fairy-wrens, and honeyeaters. It specializes in eating hairy caterpillars that many other birds avoid, sometimes rubbing them on branches to remove hairs. Often heard before it is seen, its ringing descending call is a hallmark of Australian woodlands. When calling, it frequently fans its boldly marked tail, giving the species its name.
Temperament
secretive and often skulking
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with swift, direct dashes and brief glides
Social Behavior
Mostly solitary outside of breeding, and does not build its own nest due to brood parasitism. Females deposit single eggs in host nests; chicks often outcompete host young. Courtship involves persistent calling by males and brief chases through foliage.
Migratory Pattern
Partial migrant
Song Description
A clear, ringing, descending series of whistles often rendered as a repeated falling trill. Calls carry far and are most frequent at dawn and dusk during the breeding season.
Plumage
Slate-grey upperparts with a slightly paler grey throat and rich rufous to cinnamon underparts; tail dark with bold white tips and pale barring, especially conspicuous when fanned.
Diet
Feeds primarily on insects, especially caterpillars, including hairy species that are unpalatable to many birds. Also takes beetles, moths, grasshoppers, and other soft-bodied arthropods. Prey is gleaned from foliage and bark or taken by short sallies from perches.
Preferred Environment
Forages in mid-story and canopy layers of forest edges, open woodlands, and dense shrublands. Will also hunt along tracks, riparian strips, and in gardens with mature trees.
