Fan-tailed Cuckoo at Bonython, ACT
Identification history
| Cacomantis flabelliformis | 12 Mar 2023 | natureguy | ||
| Cacomantis flabelliformis | 11 Mar 2023 | Liam.m | ||
| Cacomantis variolosus | 11 Mar 2023 | MatthewFrawley | ||
| Eudynamys orientalis | 27 Feb 2023 | CarbonAI | ||
| Cacomantis variolosus | 27 Feb 2023 | RodDeb |
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User's notes
the pattern of the marking on the underparts and the dark eye with the lack of a yellow eye-ring show it is a Brush Cuckoo not a Fan-tailed Cuckoo - confirmed on eBird by moderator Kim after notifying us that it was an unusual sighting for this area so was treated as a rare sighting. Not the best pics but it was scared off by a Red Wattlebird a short time after these pics were taken.
Also confirmed on ABID as a Brush Cuckoo.
5 comments
natureguy
wrote:
12 Mar 2023
Yes I agree, looks like a Fan-tailed to me, this bird is pretty dark plain brown whereas immature Brush has very buffy mottling and striping throughout the plumage. The eye-ring is also often indistinct or absent in immature birds so I see no reason to count that feature as conclusive either way, and again, the patterning on the underparts looks like Fan-tailed not Brush to me. Also given the fairly open habitat in an urban area it is more likely to be a Fan-tailed (though not 100% guaranteed), but combined with the other features I'm pretty convinced. It might help to have a look at some of the other images on CNM or eBird of both species immatures to see what I'm talking about if you're not convinced. e.g. this Fan-tailed, which has the typical brown underparts but no yellow eye-ring Cacomantis flabelliformis (Fan-tailed Cuckoo) , and this one of yours Cacomantis variolosus (Brush Cuckoo) which is a typical immature Brush with very buffy plumage.
MatthewFrawley
wrote:
12 Mar 2023
Think this one, and at least one of the other examples you have given are open for debate on the correct identification.
Liam.m
wrote:
12 Mar 2023
I wholeheartedly agree with Luke on this. The bird pictured in this sighting is a much better fit for a young Fan-tailed than a young brush (for the reasons he has stated above). I saw a similar bird a few years ago, and was also told by the moderator at the time (not Kim) that it was a young brush, for the same reasons as she stated (i.e. lack of yellow eye ring and marking of underparts). This bird was also a young Fan-tailed (see ebird list https://ebird.org/australia/checklist/S27252978). Both the examples Luke has provided have been correctly identified. As he said, the eye-ring in young birds is often indistinct or absent, so it is not a good ID point. Moreover, the patterning in young Brush and Fan-tailed cuckoos differs quite noticeably, and though Fan-tailed can appear quite mottly, they lack the buffiness and more distinct barring present in young Brush cuckoos.
RodDeb
wrote:
12 Mar 2023
thanks all, wish we had got pics of it out in the open before the Red Wattlebird chased it off but it was too quick. Had a look at the ebird sighting given and could see a pale eye ring on that bird. So are on the fence could be one or the other, unfortunately the bird was not telling.
Location information
- Coordinates 149.070656-35.429447
- Maps Stranger Pond
- Places Bonython, ACT
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- 27 Feb 2023 12:30 PM Recorded on
- RodDeb Recorded by
-
Collections
Birds Cuckoos RodDeb Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr
Species information
- Cacomantis flabelliformis Scientific name
- Fan-tailed Cuckoo Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1708.9m Recorded at altitude
- 263 images trained Machine learning
Record quality
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes
