African Cuckoo-Falcon

It is a mostly solitary and skulking bird, flying between trees in short glides with wings held high, swooping up at end of glide and perching. It is usually found hunting in grass and low vegetation, remaining still for a while and then moving to a new spot. Its diet consists mainly of insects, with a preference for grasshoppers, but also takes small snakes and lizards, as well as birds and rodents.

The African Cuckoo-Falcon is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

African Cuckoo-Falcon (Cuckoo Hawk), African Finfoot (rare), Rock Pratincole (summer), Meyer's Parrot, African Wood‑Owl, African Barred Owlet, Black‑collared Barbet, Gabon (Swamp) Boubou, Sulphur‑breasted (Orange‑breasted) Bushshrike, Violet‑backed (Plumcoloured) Starling, Yellow‑bellied Greenbul, Terrestrial Brownbul, Brown & Jameson's Firefinch. More

Stork, African Cuckoo-Falcon, African Fish-Eagle, White-headed Vulture, (Western) Banded Snake-Eagle, Bateleur, African Marsh-Harrier, African Harrier-Hawk (Gymnogene), Gabar Goshawk, Wahlberg's Eagle, Ayres' Hawk-Eagle, Dickinson's Kestrel, Red-necked Falcon, Helmeted Guineafowl, Red-necked Spurfowl, African Jacana, Common Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt, Bronze-winged Courser, Temminck's Courser, Long-toed Lapwing, Blacksmith Plover, White-headed Lapwing, Senegal Lapwing (Lesser Blackwinged Plover), Gray-headed Gull, Laughing Dove, Ring-necked Dove (Cape Turtle Dove), Red-eyed Dove, Emerald-Spotted Wood-Dove (Greenspotted Dove), Tambourine Dove, Namaqua Dove, Brown-headed Parrot, Lilian's Lovebird, More

Alternate common name(s): African Cuckoo-falcon, African Baza, African Cuckoo Falcon, Cuckoo-Falcon, African Cuckoo Hawk Old scientific name(s): None known by website authors Photographs Kenya - Jun, 1996 More

African Cuckoo-Falcon (Cuckoo Hawk), Aviceda cuculoides 2 soaring at Bonamanzi and 1 Charara SA (Makuti - Chirundu). Bat Hawk, Macheiramphus alcinus 1 perched by nest near Gorges Hotel, Vic falls and 1 flying over the gorge at dusk Black-shouldered Kite, Elanus caeruleus Widely scattered with a max of 5 near Wakkerstroom and Sani Pass and up to 10 around Harare Black Kite, Milvus migrans Common with a max of 30 on the Natal coast and on the Zambian side of Vic Falls. More

Picture of Aviceda cuculoides above has been licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution.
Original source: Neil Crawford from Sweden
Author: Neil Crawford from Sweden
Permission: Some rights reserved
Order : Falconiformes
Family : Accipitridae
Genus : Aviceda
Species : cuculoides
Authority : Swainson, 1837