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Little Bronze Cuckoo

Chysococcyx russatus

Size - 14-15cm A very small Cuckoo, more rufous than other Bronze-Cuckoos, with a rufous wash on the underparts and tail. Iridescent rufous-bronzed olive green back, underparts covered with short, dark scallops. Male has a red eye.

Common breeding resident in mangroves, eucalypt forest, rainforest, woodland and paperbarks of the wet, coastal lowlands.

Breeds mainly September - January. Parasitises Large-billed Gerygone nest usually. The one dark brown egg is not obviously different in the dark host’s nest.

Usually seen singly, calling frequently during the breeding season, but quiet and unobtrusive at other times. Call is a descending trill and a slower descending call. Feeds on insects, mostly caterpillars, hunting insects in flight or on foliage or on the ground.

Often heard and seen in the garden of Red Mill House, Daintree and along Stewart Creek Rd, particularly in the summer months.

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