Cuckoos

Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae ( kew-KEW-lih-dee) family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes ( kew-KEW-lih-for-meez). The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals, and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separated as distinct families, the Centropodidae and Crotophagidae, respectively.

Species in this family

• Moluccan Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis aeruginosus
• Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo Cacomantis castaneiventris
• Fan-tailed Cuckoo Cacomantis flabelliformis
• Plaintive Cuckoo Cacomantis merulinus
• Grey-bellied Cuckoo Cacomantis passerinus
• Banded Bay Cuckoo Cacomantis sonneratii
• Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis variolosus
• White-crowned Cuckoo Caliechthrus leucolophus
• Bornean Ground-Cuckoo Carpococcyx radiceus
• Coral-billed Ground-Cuckoo Carpococcyx renauldi
• Sumatran Ground-Cuckoo Carpococcyx viridis
• Andaman Coucal Centropus andamanensis
• Gabon Coucal Centropus anselli
• Pied Coucal Centropus ateralbus
• Lesser Coucal Centropus bengalensis
• Lesser Black Coucal Centropus bernsteini
• Bay Coucal Centropus celebensis
• Biak Coucal Centropus chalybeus
• Green-billed Coucal Centropus chlororhynchos
• Coppery-tailed Coucal Centropus cupreicaudus
• Goliath Coucal Centropus goliath
• Black Coucal Centropus grillii
• Black-throated Coucal Centropus leucogaster
• Black-faced Coucal Centropus melanops
• Greater Black Coucal Centropus menbeki
• Buff-headed Coucal Centropus milo
• Blue-headed Coucal Centropus monachus
• Sunda Coucal Centropus nigrorufus
• Pheasant Coucal Centropus phasianinus
• Short-toed Coucal Centropus rectunguis
• Senegal Coucal Centropus senegalensis
• Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis
• Black-hooded Coucal Centropus steerii
• White-browed Coucal Centropus superciliosus
• Malagasy Coucal Centropus toulou
• Rufous Coucal Centropus unirufus
• Violaceous Coucal Centropus violaceus
• Philippine Coucal Centropus viridis
• Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo Cercococcyx mechowi
• Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo Cercococcyx montanus
• Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo Cercococcyx olivinus
• Blue Malkoha Ceuthmochares aereus
• Green Malkoha Ceuthmochares australis
• Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo Chalcites basalis
• Shining Bronze-Cuckoo Chalcites lucidus
• Long-billed Cuckoo Chalcites megarhynchus
• White-eared Bronze-Cuckoo Chalcites meyerii
• Little Bronze-Cuckoo Chalcites minutillus
• Black-eared Cuckoo Chalcites osculans
• Rufous-throated Bronze-Cuckoo Chalcites ruficollis
• Dideric Cuckoo Chrysococcyx caprius
• African Emerald Cuckoo Chrysococcyx cupreus
• Yellow-throated Cuckoo Chrysococcyx flavigularis
• Klaas's Cuckoo Chrysococcyx klaas
• Asian Emerald Cuckoo Chrysococcyx maculatus
• Violet Cuckoo Chrysococcyx xanthorhynchus
• Chestnut-winged Cuckoo Clamator coromandus
• Great Spotted Cuckoo Clamator glandarius
• Pied Cuckoo Clamator jacobinus
• Levaillant's Cuckoo Clamator levaillantii
• Ash-coloured Cuckoo Coccycua cinerea
• Little Cuckoo Coccycua minuta
• Dwarf Cuckoo Coccycua pumila
• Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americanus
• Black-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus erythropthalmus
• Pearly-breasted Cuckoo Coccyzus euleri
• Cocos Cuckoo Coccyzus ferrugineus
• Grey-capped Cuckoo Coccyzus lansbergi
• Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo Coccyzus longirostris
• Dark-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus melacoryphus
• Great Lizard-Cuckoo Coccyzus merlini
• Mangrove Cuckoo Coccyzus minor
• Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo Coccyzus pluvialis
• Bay-breasted Cuckoo Coccyzus rufigularis
• Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo Coccyzus vetula
• Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo Coccyzus vieilloti
• Blue Coua Coua caerulea
• Coquerel's Coua Coua coquereli
• Crested Coua Coua cristata
• Running Coua Coua cursor
• Giant Coua Coua gigas
• Red-fronted Coua Coua reynaudii
• Red-capped Coua Coua ruficeps
• Red-breasted Coua Coua serriana
• Verreaux's Coua Coua verreauxi
• Smooth-billed Ani Crotophaga ani
• Greater Ani Crotophaga major
• Groove-billed Ani Crotophaga sulcirostris
• Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus
• Black Cuckoo Cuculus clamosus
• Sulawesi Cuckoo Cuculus crassirostris
• African Cuckoo Cuculus gularis
• Sunda Cuckoo Cuculus lepidus
• Indian Cuckoo Cuculus micropterus
• Oriental Cuckoo Cuculus optatus
• Lesser Cuckoo Cuculus poliocephalus
• Madagascar Cuckoo Cuculus rochii
• Himalayan Cuckoo Cuculus saturatus
• Red-chested Cuckoo Cuculus solitarius
• Scale-feathered Malkoha Dasylophus cumingi
• Red-crested Malkoha Dasylophus superciliosus
• Pavonine Cuckoo Dromococcyx pavoninus
• Pheasant Cuckoo Dromococcyx phasianellus
• Black-billed Koel Eudynamys melanorhynchus
• Pacific Koel Eudynamys orientalis
• Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopaceus
• Greater Roadrunner Geococcyx californianus
• Lesser Roadrunner Geococcyx velox
• Guira Cuckoo Guira guira
• Pallid Cuckoo Heteroscenes pallidus
• Dark Hawk-Cuckoo Hierococcyx bocki
• Malaysian Hawk-Cuckoo Hierococcyx fugax
• Northern Hawk-Cuckoo Hierococcyx hyperythrus
• Hodgson's Hawk-Cuckoo Hierococcyx nisicolor
• Philippine Hawk-Cuckoo Hierococcyx pectoralis
• Large Hawk-Cuckoo Hierococcyx sparverioides
• Moustached Hawk-Cuckoo Hierococcyx vagans
• Common Hawk-Cuckoo Hierococcyx varius
• Dwarf Koel Microdynamis parva
• Lesser Ground-Cuckoo Morococcyx erythropygus
• Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo Neomorphus geoffroyi
• Red-billed Ground-Cuckoo Neomorphus pucheranii
• Banded Ground-Cuckoo Neomorphus radiolosus
• Rufous-winged Ground-Cuckoo Neomorphus rufipennis
• Scaled Ground-Cuckoo Neomorphus squamiger
• Thick-billed Cuckoo Pachycoccyx audeberti
• Chestnut-breasted Malkoha Phaenicophaeus curvirostris
• Black-bellied Malkoha Phaenicophaeus diardi
• Red-faced Malkoha Phaenicophaeus pyrrhocephalus
• Chestnut-bellied Malkoha Phaenicophaeus sumatranus
• Green-billed Malkoha Phaenicophaeus tristis
• Blue-faced Malkoha Phaenicophaeus viridirostris
• Common Squirrel-Cuckoo Piaya cayana
• Black-bellied Cuckoo Piaya melanogaster
• Yellow-billed Malkoha Rhamphococcyx calyorhynchus
• Raffles's Malkoha Rhinortha chlorophaea
• Channel-billed Cuckoo Scythrops novaehollandiae
• Fork-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo Surniculus dicruroides
• Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo Surniculus lugubris
• Moluccan Drongo-Cuckoo Surniculus musschenbroeki
• Philippine Drongo-Cuckoo Surniculus velutinus
• Sirkeer Malkoha Taccocua leschenaultii
• Striped Cuckoo Tapera naevia
• Long-tailed Koel Urodynamis taitensis
• Red-billed Malkoha Zanclostomus javanicus

Lookalikes compared

• Asian Koel vs Hodgson's Hawk-Cuckoo
• Asian Koel vs Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo
• Black-throated Coucal vs Black Coucal
• Common Hawk-Cuckoo vs Himalayan Cuckoo
• Common Hawk-Cuckoo vs Philippine Hawk-Cuckoo
• Crested Coua vs Verreaux's Coua
• Dark-billed Cuckoo vs Pearly-breasted Cuckoo
• Greater Roadrunner vs Yellow-billed Cuckoo
• Groove-billed Ani vs Striped Cuckoo
• Guira Cuckoo vs Greater Ani
• Himalayan Cuckoo vs Oriental Cuckoo
• Hodgson's Hawk-Cuckoo vs Indian Cuckoo
• Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo vs Shining Bronze-Cuckoo
• Large Hawk-Cuckoo vs Northern Hawk-Cuckoo
• Pacific Koel vs Black-eared Cuckoo
• Pheasant Cuckoo vs Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo
• Pied Cuckoo vs Dideric Cuckoo
• Pied Cuckoo vs Violet Cuckoo
• Plaintive Cuckoo vs Brush Cuckoo
• Red-billed Malkoha vs Banded Bay Cuckoo
• Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo vs Cocos Cuckoo
• Thick-billed Cuckoo vs African Cuckoo
• Violet Cuckoo vs Banded Bay Cuckoo
• Violet Cuckoo vs Plaintive Cuckoo