Great Spotted Cuckoo

Great Spotted Cuckoo

Clamator glandarius

Silhouette: Nicolas Huet le Jeune and Jean-Gabriel Prêtre (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
at Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
5 Verified sightings at Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park From 2019 to 2026
1,916 Verified sightings across all 45 parks From 2019 to 2026
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Great Spotted Cuckoo

The great spotted cuckoo (Clamator glandarius) is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals. It is widely spread throughout Africa and the Mediterranean Basin. It is a brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of corvids, in particular the Eurasian magpie.

In 1747 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the great spotted cuckoo in the second volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "The Great Spotted Cuckow". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a specimen that had been shot in Gibraltar and sent to the English naturalist Mark Catesby in London. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the great spotted cuckoo with the other cuckoos in the genus Cuculus. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Cuculus glandarius and cited Edwards's work. The great spotted cuckoo is now placed in the genus Clamator that was introduced by German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1829. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

Jacobin Cuckoo
LC

Jacobin Cuckoo

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Clamator jacobinus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Dideric Cuckoo
LC

Dideric Cuckoo

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Chrysococcyx caprius

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Black Cuckoo
LC

Black Cuckoo

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Cuculus clamosus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
African Cuckoo
LC

African Cuckoo

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Cuculus gularis

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Meru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
2 Awash National Park 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~10%
3 Serengeti National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
4 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
5 Samburu National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
6 Tarangire National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
7 Ruaha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
8 Tsavo West National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
9 Doñana National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
10 Etosha National Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
<5%
11 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
12 Nairobi National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
13 Monfragüe National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
14 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
15 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
16 Pilanesberg National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
17 Kidepo Valley National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
18 Mkomazi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
19 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
20 Tsavo East National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
21 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
22 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
23 Camargue 🇫🇷 France
<5%
24 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
25 Chobe National Park 🇧🇼 Botswana
<5%
26 Moremi Game Reserve 🇧🇼 Botswana
<5%
27 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
28 Virunga National Park 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
<5%
29 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%
30 Cévennes National Park 🇫🇷 France
Insufficient data
31 Addo Elephant National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
Insufficient data
32 Gonarezhou National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
Insufficient data
33 Liwonde National Park 🇲🇼 Malawi
Insufficient data
34 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
Insufficient data
35 Gorongosa National Park 🇲🇿 Mozambique
Insufficient data
36 Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
Insufficient data
37 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
Insufficient data
38 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
Insufficient data
39 Lake Manyara National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
Insufficient data
40 South Luangwa National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
Insufficient data
41 Hwange National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
Insufficient data
42 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
Insufficient data
43 Amboseli National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
Insufficient data
44 Kafue National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
Insufficient data
45 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
Insufficient data
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