Channel-billed Cuckoo
Scythrops novaehollandiae
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderCuculiformes (Cuckoos)
- FamilyCuculidae (Cuckoos)
- GenusScythrops
- SpeciesScythrops novaehollandiae (Channel-billed Cuckoo)
About the Channel-billed Cuckoo
The channel-billed cuckoo (Scythrops novaehollandiae) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is monotypic within the genus Scythrops. The species is the largest brood parasite in the world, and the largest cuckoo.
It is found in Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia; additionally, it is vagrant in New Caledonia and New Zealand. The species is migratory over part of its range. There are three subspecies, one migratory, the other two resident. The species is listed as least concern by the IUCN.
Captain Arthur Phillip wrote of this (at the time) mysterious bird—calling it the 'psittaceous hornbill'—in his 1789 work The voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay, consulting with ornithologist John Latham and deliberating that it had features of a parrot, hornbill or toucan, though conceding there were no toucans in the region. He gave it the name Scythrops novaehollandiae in 1790. Its generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek skuthro-/σκυθρο- 'angry' or 'sullen', and ops/ωψ 'face', 'eye' or 'countenance'. The specific epithet novaehollandiae means of New Holland, hence Australian. John White, the surgeon-general of the First Fleet to New South Wales, wrote... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Raja Ampat
Rusty-breasted Cuckoo
Cacomantis variolosus
Little Bronze Cuckoo
Chrysococcyx minutillus
Lesser Black Coucal
Centropus bernsteini
Greater Black Coucal
Centropus menbeki
Dwarf Koel
Microdynamis parva
White-crowned Koel
Caliechthrus leucolophus
Pacific Koel
Eudynamys orientalis
Oriental Cuckoo
Cuculus optatus
Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo
Cacomantis castaneiventris
Shining Cuckoo
Chrysococcyx lucidus
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Litchfield National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Raja Ampat | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 4 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Tangkoko Nature Reserve | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 8 | Nitmiluk National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 11 | Noosa National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 12 | Booderee National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 13 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Channel-billed Cuckoo in Raja Ampat?
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Channel-billed Cuckoo sighting in Raja Ampat, based on 164 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Channel-billed Cuckoo in Raja Ampat?
January has the highest sighting rate for Channel-billed Cuckoo in Raja Ampat in our monthly data.