Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo
Male, back
Ellura
Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo
Female, profile
 
                      
Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo (Chalcites basalis)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Chordates (Chordata) - Birds (Aves)
Order: Cuckoos (Cuculiformes)
Family: Cuckoo (Cuculidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo (Chalcites basalis)
This Photo:     🔍Male, chestnut tail feathers🔎
Synonym: Chrysococcyx basalis
Other names: Horsefield's or Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo

Thank you Alan Melville for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA), the Adelaide Hills and elsewhere
Regular high-pitched call with brown and white barred breast. Metallic green and bronze back.
Camouflages very well in bushes with its green back.
Very similar to Shining Bronze Cuckoo, but the Horsfields' bars don't meet at the front. The green back is also duller, but that's hard to compare without seeing both.
The males have orange / brown eyes, while the females have off-white eyes.

Similar Species: Shining Bronze-cuckoo (Chalcites lucidus ssp plagosus) : Black Eared Cuckoo (Chalcites osculans)

Copyright © 2012-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 03-Aug-2012
This species is classed as LC (Least Concern) in the Murray Mallee, SA, by DENR (Regional Species Status Assessments, July 2010)