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Song & Call Comparison
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Song & Call Comparison
Lesser Ground-cuckoo
Chant
Soft, ventriloquial whistled phrase; clear pure notes given quietly and deceptively from dense tropical thicket.
Thick-billed Cuckoo
Chant
Deep, hollow resonant booming; powerful low notes carrying through dense humid Southeast Asian forest.
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Geographic Range & Migration
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Conservation Status Comparison
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Statut de conservation
Least Concern
Lesser Ground-cuckoo
Least Concern
Thick-billed Cuckoo
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Identification Tips — How to Tell Them Apart
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How to Tell Them Apart
Lesser Ground-cuckoo
Plumage
Greater Roadrunner: boldly streaked brown above; white-cream below with dark streaks; long tail; shaggy crest; bare facial skin; fast runner
Thick-billed Cuckoo
Plumage
Long-tailed Koel: males blue-black; females barred brown; very long tail; red eye; Pacific island koel; strongly dimorphic
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About Each Bird (Descriptions)
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Lesser Ground-cuckoo (Morococcyx erythropygus) — 28 cm. Brown above; chestnut rump; whitish underparts; bare blue orbital skin. Inhabits dry and semi-arid scrub from Mexico to Costa Rica. Non-parasitic; builds its own nest in low shrubs. Runs on the ground hunting large insects, lizards, and amphibians. Monotypic genus endemic to Mesoamerica.
Thick-billed Cuckoo (Pachycoccyx audeberti) — 32–36 cm. Hawk-like; dark brown above; white below with fine dark streaking; thick, strongly curved bill. Inhabits woodland and savanna of East and Central Africa from Tanzania to Malawi and Mozambique. Brood parasite targeting helmet-shrikes (Prionops). Insectivore. Rare and locally distributed.
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Related Comparisons
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More Birds in Family
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