African cuckoo

Introduction: African cuckoos (Cuculus gularis) can be found in open woodland or Acacia type savannah on dry riverbeds with large trees associated with the south-west Kalahari Desert region. They are not usually observed in regions of dense forest and most dry areas.

Distribution: Central and northern Namibia including Etosha National Park, Windhoek, Ovamboland and the Caprivi, Okavango Delta.

Diet: Forages among shrubs and trees as well as on the ground for butterfly larvae. Searches for food in cattle dung.

Description: Dark ashey grey upperparts, with a whitish tipped, blackish tail. Ashey-grey wings. Yellow or yellow-orange legs and feet. Gularis is Latin for 'of the throat'.

Breeding: Brood parasite in fork-tailed Drongo nests. Lays, white, creamy or pinkish eggs.

Size: 33cm.

Weight: 105g.