Birding

Black-eared Cuckoo

May 7, 2023 by Clare M No Comments

Black-eared Cuckoos – Chrysococcyx osculans are one of the smaller Cuckoos in Australia and a Cuckoo species that I have not had much of an opportunity to photograph. I have photographed the Pallid Cuckoos that like to eat the Processionary Caterpillars and the Brush Cuckoo and also the Little Bronze Cuckoo. It was only by chance that I had the opportunity to photograph the Black-eared Cuckoo during a recent bush walk. It wasn’t calling, which is often the giveaway for Cuckoos in Australia, but perched on a branch as we walked by.

The photograph above is the first photograph that I took of the Black-eared Cuckoo and I had not expected it to remain on the branch as we walked by. It was actually rather obliging and allowed me to photograph it with a blue background and from a few different angles.

Black-eared Cuckoo

Black-eared Cuckoos do not raise their own young, but place an egg in another bird species nest for them to raise as their own. We have observed many of the Cuckoo species here in Australia being raised by other bird species, but not the Black-eared Cuckoo as yet.

Written by Clare M
Clare and her husband, Grant, have lived permanently in Broome, Western Australia since 1999 after living in various outback locations around Western Australia and Darwin. She has lived in the Middle East and the United States and traveled extensively in Europe. She monitors Pied Oystercatchers breeding along a 23km stretch of Broome's coastline by bicycle and on foot. She chooses not to participate in social media, but rather wander off into the bush for peace and tranquility. Thankfully she can write posts in advance and get away from technology!