Chrysococcyx basalis
Silhouette: Nicolas Huet le Jeune and Jean-Gabriel Prêtre (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Horsfield's bronze cuckoo (Chalcites basalis) is a small cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. Its size averages 22 g (0.78 oz) and is distinguished by its green and bronze iridescent colouring on its back and incomplete brown barring from neck to tail. Horsfield's bronze cuckoo can be distinguished from other bronze cuckoos by its white eyebrow and brown eye stripe. The Horsfield's bronze cuckoo is common throughout Australia preferring the drier open woodlands away from forested areas. This species was formerly placed in the genus Chrysococcyx.
The Horsfield's bronze cuckoo is one of five Australian species in the genus Chalcites (formerly Chrysococcyx) a type of parasitic bird, that parasitizes fairy-wrens primarily to raise their young. The main diet of the Horsfield's bronze cuckoo is insects and they are nomadic, travelling to different regions of Australia to breed and find food. Small insects are taken from leaves, branches, caught on the wing and in breeding season, Horsfield's bronze cuckoos feed each other in a courtship ritual.
The Horsfield's bronze cuckoo is known as a brood parasite, this means that they lay their eggs in a host species... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flinders Ranges National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Flinders Chase | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Cape Range | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Ningaloo Marine Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 11 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 12 | Booderee National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 13 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 14 | Bali Barat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 15 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo sighting in Great Otway National Park on a given day, based on 72 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 115th most-seen of the 175 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo in Great Otway National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to August, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
9th of 15
Of the 15 parks where we can rate Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo sightings, Great Otway National Park ranks 9th at under 5%. The best odds are in Flinders Ranges National Park (Australia, about 10%), Hattah-Kulkyne National Park (Australia, about 10%) and Flinders Chase (Australia, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo is recorded against all the birds logged in Great Otway National Park (72 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.
