Australian Biological Resources Study

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CAVS: 8932

Subspecies Scythrops novaehollandiae novaehollandiae Latham, 1790

 

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia


Extra Distribution Information

All coastal and subcoastal north and east Australia, west to Kimberley Division, WA-south in west to central Fitzroy River-Christmas Creek, WA, the upper Victoria River drainage and Barkly Tableland, NT, and Selwyn Range, QLD, and inland in east to Longreach and Cunnamulla, QLD, Moree, Gilgandra and Dubbo, NSW, contracting south-east as far as Bega on coast, straggling inland to upper channel country of Diamantina and Cooper drainage, QLD, rarely reaching Lake Eyre, SA, Bulloo River basin, QLD and east VIC-also Buccaneer and Bonaparte Archipelagos, Melville-Bathurst Ils, Groote Eylandt, Sir Edward Pellew Group, Mornington Is., islands in Torres Strait, and Dunk, Brampton and Fraser Ils-vagrant to VIC, TAS, New Zealand, and New Caledonia.


Note that conversion of the original AFD map of states, drainage basins and coastal and oceanic zones to IBRA and IMCRA regions may have produced errors. The new maps will be reviewed and corrected as updates occur. The maps may not indicate the entire distribution. See further details below.
IBRA and IMCRA regions (map not available)
drainage basins and coastal and oceanic zones (map not available)

IBRA

NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Tas, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Ben Lomond (BEL), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Burt Plain (BRT), Central Arnhem (CA), Channel Country (CHC), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Finke (FIN), Flinders (FLI), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), King (KIN), MacDonnell Ranges (MAC), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Tasmanian Central Highlands (TCH), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Tasmanian Northern Midlands (TNM), Tasmanian Northern Slopes (TNS), Tasmanian South East (TSE), Tasmanian Southern Ranges (TSR), Tasmanian West (TWE), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Wet Tropics (WT)

IMCRA

Norfolk Island Province (21)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

  • Australia
    • New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
    • Norfolk Island
    • Northern Territory: Lake Eyre basin, N Gulf, N coastal
    • South Australia: Lake Eyre basin
    • Tasmania
    • Victoria: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
    • Western Australia: N coastal
  • Indonesia
    • Irian Jaya
  • New Caledonia
  • New Zealand
  • Papua New Guinea

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, arthropod-feeder, closed forest, diurnal, frugivorous, gregarious, low woodland, migratory, open forest, volant, woodland.

Extra Ecological Information

Randomly dispersed, seasonal breeder, solitary, in pairs or small groups, feeds arboreally mainly on fruit (e.g., Ficus spp.) and less commonly insects (Coleoptera, Orthoptera, Phasmatodea), often perches on high exposed branches, flies in graceful cuckoo-like undulations over tree tops, brood parasite parasitizing Corvus spp., Strepera graculina (Shaw, 1790) and Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802), disperses on migration to Papuasia, Moluccas and Lesser Sundas in Mar.-Apr. and returns to breed Aug.-Sept.

 

General References

Brooker, M.G. & Brooker, L.C. 1989. Cuckoo hosts in Australia. Australian Zoological Reviews 2: 1-67 (nidification)

Coates, B.J. 1985. The Birds of Papua New Guinea, including the Bismarck Archipelago and Bougainville. Non-Passerines. Alderley, Qld : Dove Publications Vol. 1 464 pp. 493 pls. (morphology, nidification, voice, diet)

Goddard, M.T. & Marchant, S. 1983. The parasitic habits of the Channel-billed Cuckoo Scythrops novaehollandiae in Australia. Australian Birds 17: 65-72 [Duncan, F.M. 1937. On the dates of publication of the Society's 'Proceedings', 1859–1926. With an appendix containing the dates of publication of 'Proceedings', 1830–1858, compiled by the late F.H. Waterhouse, and of the 'Transactions', 1833–1869, by the late Henry Peavot, originally published in P.Z.S. 1893, 1913. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 107: 71–84] (nidification)

Johnson, C.N. 1983. Courtship feeding and mating in the Channel-billed Cuckoo. Corella 7: 44 [Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp.] (nidification)

Mason, I.J. in Schodde, R. & Tidemann, S.C. (consultant eds) 1986. Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds. Sydney : Reader's Digest 639 pp. (morphology, nidification, behaviour)

McCulloch, E.M. 1980. The Channel-billed Cuckoo. Bird Observer (Australia) 581: 42-43 [Duncan, F.M. 1937. On the dates of publication of the Society's 'Proceedings', 1859–1926. With an appendix containing the dates of publication of 'Proceedings', 1830–1858, compiled by the late F.H. Waterhouse, and of the 'Transactions', 1833–1869, by the late Henry Peavot, originally published in P.Z.S. 1893, 1913. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 107: 71–84] (general behaviour)

Morris, A.K. 1980. The Channel-billed Cuckoo in the Coonabarrabran District. Bird Observer (Australia) 584: 71 [Duncan, F.M. 1937. On the dates of publication of the Society's 'Proceedings', 1859–1926. With an appendix containing the dates of publication of 'Proceedings', 1830–1858, compiled by the late F.H. Waterhouse, and of the 'Transactions', 1833–1869, by the late Henry Peavot, originally published in P.Z.S. 1893, 1913. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 107: 71–84] (voice, diet, behaviour)

 

History of changes

Note that this list may be incomplete for dates prior to September 2013.
Published As part of group Action Date Action Type Compiler(s)
12-Feb-2010 (import)