Pied Fantail feeding juvenile cuckoo

Posted by BESG on 13 October 08, Monday
Contributed by Mark Chua

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In late August 2008, Mark Chua documented an adult Pied Fantail (Rhipidura javanica) feeding a very hungry juvenile cuckoo (above). Interestingly, Mark had earlier seen another pair around the same the area of the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

The cuckoo was a Rusty-breasted Cuckoo (Cacomantis sepulcralis) (below left), seen from South Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia through Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Bali and the Philippines and to Lesser Sundas.

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The bird is an uncommon resident of Singapore, seen near coastal areas and around mangroves.

This cuckoo is a brood parasite with more than 60 species of hosts recorded throughout its range. Payne (1997) lists these hosts to include sunbird, tailorbird, shrike, flycatcher, fantail, white-eye, wren… the list goes on.

In Singapore the host has been identified as the Pied Fantail. Over at Peninsular Malaysia, the Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher (Cyornis tickelliae) is another of its brood-host (Wells, 2007).

Interestingly, most of the hosts are smaller birds. This means that foster parents need to work extra hard to find food for the larger cuckoo chick and a much larger fledgling.

References:
1.
Davies, N. B. (2000). Cuckoos, cowbirds and other cheats. London: T&AD Poyser.
2. Payne, R.B. (1997). Family Cuculidae (cucoos). Pp.508-607 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. eds. Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 4. Sandgrouse to Cuckoos. Barcelona: Lynx Editions.
3. Payne, R.B. (2005). The cuckoos. Oxford University Press.
4. Wells, D.R. (2007). The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsular. Vol. II, Passerines. Christopher Helm, London

This post is a cooperative effort between www.naturepixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.


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