Jacobin Cuckoo
Jacobin CuckooJacobin CuckooJacobin CuckooJacobin Cuckoo

Jacobin Cuckoo

Clamator jacobinus

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

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Kruger National Park
1,557 Verified sightings at Kruger National Park From 2019 to 2026
4,908 Verified sightings across all 67 parks From 2019 to 2026
January Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Jacobin Cuckoo

The Jacobin cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus), also pied cuckoo or pied crested cuckoo, is a member of the cuckoo order of birds that is found in Africa and Asia. It is partially migratory and in India, it has been considered a harbinger of the monsoon rains due to the timing of its arrival. It has been associated with a bird in Indian mythology and poetry, known as the chātaka (Sanskrit: चातक) represented as a bird with a beak on its head that waits for rains to quench its thirst.

The Jacobin cuckoo was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux in 1780. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle. This was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Cuculus jacobinus in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. The type locality is the Coromandel Coast of southeast India.

The current genus Clamator was erected by German naturalist... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Kruger National Park

Levaillant's Cuckoo
LC

Levaillant's Cuckoo

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Clamator levaillantii

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
Great Spotted Cuckoo
LC

Great Spotted Cuckoo

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Clamator glandarius

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
White-browed Coucal
LC

White-browed Coucal

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Centropus superciliosus

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
Dideric Cuckoo
LC

Dideric Cuckoo

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Chrysococcyx caprius

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
Red-chested Cuckoo
LC

Red-chested Cuckoo

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Cuculus solitarius

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
Klaas's Cuckoo
LC

Klaas's Cuckoo

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Chrysococcyx klaas

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
Black Cuckoo
LC

Black Cuckoo

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Cuculus clamosus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
African Cuckoo
LC

African Cuckoo

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Cuculus gularis

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Common Cuckoo
LC

Common Cuckoo

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Cuculus canorus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Black Coucal
LC

Black Coucal

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Centropus grillii

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Thick-billed Cuckoo
LC

Thick-billed Cuckoo

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Pachycoccyx audeberti

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
African Emerald Cuckoo
LC

African Emerald Cuckoo

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Chrysococcyx cupreus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

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
~20%
2 Tsavo West National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%
3 Samburu National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
4 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
5 Tsavo East National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
6 Mana Pools National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~10%
7 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~10%
8 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
9 Lake Manyara National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
10 Keoladeo National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
11 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
12 Mkomazi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
13 Wilpattu National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~10%
14 Tarangire National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
15 Ruaha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
16 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
17 Mudumalai National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
18 Serengeti National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
19 Gonarezhou National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~10%
20 Awash National Park 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~10%
21 Gir National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
22 Nairobi National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
23 Ranthambore National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
24 Lower Zambezi National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
<5%
25 Kidepo Valley National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
26 Liwonde National Park 🇲🇼 Malawi
<5%
27 Kafue National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
<5%
28 Chobe National Park 🇧🇼 Botswana
<5%
29 Hwange National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
<5%
30 South Luangwa National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
<5%
31 Arusha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
32 Satpura National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
33 Amboseli National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
34 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
35 Minneriya National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
36 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
37 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
<5%
38 Jim Corbett National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
39 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
40 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
41 Addo Elephant National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
42 Moremi Game Reserve 🇧🇼 Botswana
<5%
43 Pilanesberg National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
44 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
<5%
45 Etosha National Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
<5%
46 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
47 Bandhavgarh National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
48 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
49 Sundarbans National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
50 Virunga National Park 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
<5%
51 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
52 Manas National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
53 Mikumi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
Insufficient data
54 Namib-Naukluft National Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
Insufficient data
55 Selous Game Reserve 🇹🇿 Tanzania
Insufficient data
56 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
Insufficient data
57 Eravikulam National Park 🇮🇳 India
Insufficient data
58 Waterberg Plateau Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
Insufficient data
59 Royal Bardia National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
Insufficient data
60 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
Insufficient data
61 Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
Insufficient data
62 Semuliki National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
Insufficient data
63 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
Insufficient data
64 Aberdare National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
Insufficient data
65 Nyungwe National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
Insufficient data
66 Periyar National Park 🇮🇳 India
Insufficient data
67 Kaziranga National Park 🇮🇳 India
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Jacobin Cuckoo in Kruger National Park?

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Jacobin Cuckoo sighting in Kruger National Park, based on 1,557 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Jacobin Cuckoo in Kruger National Park?

January has the highest sighting rate for Jacobin Cuckoo in Kruger National Park in our monthly data.

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