Fan-tailed Cuckoo

Fan-tailed Cuckoo

Cacomantis flabelliformis

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

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Hobart

In 3 days <5%

8 Verified sightings at Hobart
3,790 In all 17 parks From 2019 to 2026
October Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Fan-tailed Cuckoo

The fan-tailed cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Australia, Fiji, New Caledonia, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. Six subspecies have been recognised:

Cacomantis flabelliformis excitus (Rothschild & Hartert, 1907) – Mountains of New Guinea. Cacomantis flabelliformis flabelliformis (Latham, 1802) – Eastern Australia from Cape York through to southern South Australia; south-western Western Australia.

Cacomantis flabelliformis meeki (Rothschild & Hartert, 1902) – Solomon Islands including Santa Isabel, Kolombangara, Guadalcanal and Bellona. Originally designated Cacomantis meeki. Cacomantis flabelliformis pyrrhophanus (Vieillot, 1817) – New Caledonia including the Loyalty Islands.

Cacomantis flabelliformis schistaceigularis (Sharpe, 1900) – Vanuatu. Cacomantis flabelliformis simus (Peale, 1848) – Fiji. The fan-tailed cuckoo is about 25–27 cm (9.8–10.6 in) long. The fan-tailed cuckoo has a slate-grey head, back and wings, rufous underparts and barred black and white tail. Its eye is surrounded by a yellow orbital eye ring which helps to distinguish it from the smaller and paler brush... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:04

Australia · 2024

© Romuald Mikusek · XC1173892 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Recording0:17

Australia · 2024

© Drew Davison · XC934932 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:04

Australia · 2024

© Khristos Nizamis · XC911100 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Maria Island National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~40%
2 Lamington National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~30%
3 Great Otway National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
4 Kosciuszko National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
5 Royal National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
6 Grampians National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
7 Blue Mountains National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
8 Springbrook National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
9 Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
10 Booderee National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
11 Wilsons Promontory National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
12 Flinders Chase 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
13 Freycinet National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
14 Flinders Ranges National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
15 Noosa National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
16 Hattah-Kulkyne National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
17 Daintree National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Brisbane 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
2 Melbourne 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
3 Sydney 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
4 Perth 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
5 Hobart 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Fan-tailed Cuckoo in Hobart?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Fan-tailed Cuckoo sighting in Hobart on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 72nd most-seen of the 79 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Fan-tailed Cuckoo in Hobart?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Fan-tailed Cuckoo in Hobart on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Fan-tailed Cuckoo?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Fan-tailed Cuckoo sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Hobart the best place to see a Fan-tailed Cuckoo?

5th of 5

Of the 5 cities where we can rate Fan-tailed Cuckoo sightings, Hobart ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Brisbane (Australia, about 10%), Melbourne (Australia, under 5%) and Sydney (Australia, under 5%).

Where does the Fan-tailed Cuckoo sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Fan-tailed Cuckoo is recorded against all the birds logged in Hobart (8 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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