Cacomantis flabelliformis
Silhouette: Nicolas Huet le Jeune and Jean-Gabriel Prêtre (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maria Island National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Booderee National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 11 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 12 | Flinders Chase | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 13 | Freycinet National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 14 | Flinders Ranges National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 15 | Noosa National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 16 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 17 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Fan-tailed Cuckoo sighting in Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park on a given day, based on 45 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 28th most-seen of the 49 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Fan-tailed Cuckoo in Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March, July and October, the lowest months.
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.
9th of 17
Of the 17 parks where we can rate Fan-tailed Cuckoo sightings, Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park ranks 9th at about 10%. The best odds are in Maria Island National Park (Australia, about 40%), Lamington National Park (Australia, about 30%) and Great Otway National Park (Australia, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Fan-tailed Cuckoo is recorded against all the birds logged in Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park (45 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
