Dromococcyx pavoninus
Silhouette: Nicolas Huet le Jeune and Jean-Gabriel Prêtre (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The pavonine cuckoo (Dromococcyx pavoninus) is a Neotropical cuckoo with a long graduated tail and a short crest. It is one of three species of Neotropical cuckoo which are known to be brood parasites. The head and crest of this bird is rusty brown and the remaining plumage is mainly dark brown above and paler below, with a rich buff coloured supercilium, throat and breast. It is similar in appearance to the pheasant cuckoo but has a slightly different call and is larger overall. Additionally, the buff supercilium, throat and breast of the pheasant cuckoo is paler than in the pavonine cuckoo and the throat and breast of the pheasant cuckoo are heavily marked while those areas of the pavonine cuckoo have no dark spots or streaks.
The pavonine cuckoo inhabits the understorey of subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests in South America, where it is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. It has a wide range but a patchy distribution, being absent from some areas where it might have been expected to be present.
��2... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Henri Pittier National Park | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 4 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 5 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 6 | Chapada dos Guimarães National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Pavonine Cuckoo sighting in Iguazú National Park on a given day, based on 200 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 178th most-seen of the 343 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April, June and August–September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pavonine Cuckoo in Iguazú National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May, July and October–March, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pavonine Cuckoo sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Pavonine Cuckoo sightings, Iguazú National Park has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Iguaçu National Park (Brazil, under 5%) and Henri Pittier National Park (Venezuela, under 5%).
Same family: Cuculidae
The closest relatives of the Pavonine Cuckoo that you can see in Iguazú National Park (family Cuculidae, Cuckoos) are Squirrel Cuckoo (about 40%), Smooth-billed Ani (about 30%) and Greater Ani (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pavonine Cuckoo is recorded against all the birds logged in Iguazú National Park (200 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.
