Aviceda cuculoides
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The African cuckoo-hawk, or African baza (Aviceda cuculoides), is a medium-sized raptor in the family Accipitridae so named because it resembles the common cuckoo. It is found in sub-Saharan Africa and along the eastern parts of Southern Africa, preferring dense woodland and forest of either indigenous or exotic trees.
The African cuckoo-hawk weighs 220–296 grams (0.48–0.65 lb) and has a wingspan of 91 cm (35 inches). The male is blackish-brown above with a grey mantle and chest with a blackish crest, the underparts are white marked with broad chestnut bars. The tail is black with three grey bars and grey and white tip. The females are browner with paler chestnut bars on the underparts. Distinctive in flight as a small raptor with a small head with broad, narrowly rounded wings and a medium length tail. Wingspan is just over double the body length, females are slightly larger than males.
The African cuckoo-hawk is found across much of sub-Saharan Africa, and the following subspecies are recognised: A. c. subsp. cuculoides – Senegal to southwestern Ethiopia and northern DRC A. c. subsp. batesi – Sierra Leone to Uganda and northern... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Odzala-Kokoua National Park | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo | |
| 2 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 3 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 5 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 6 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Aberdare National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 8 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 9 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 10 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 11 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 12 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 13 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 14 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 15 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 16 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 17 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an African Cuckoo-Hawk sighting in Meru National Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 171st most-seen of the 243 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and June
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an African Cuckoo-Hawk in Meru National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January and November, the lowest months. Those are among Meru National Park's wettest months, with about 95 mm of rain a month against almost none in July. May and July–August have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Cuckoo-Hawk sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 17
Of the 17 parks where we can rate African Cuckoo-Hawk sightings, Meru National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Odzala-Kokoua National Park (Republic of the Congo, about 20%).
Same family: Accipitridae
The closest relatives of the African Cuckoo-Hawk that you can see in Meru National Park (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are Bateleur (about 50%), Eastern Chanting-Goshawk (about 50%) and Tawny Eagle (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Cuckoo-Hawk is recorded against all the birds logged in Meru National Park (12 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.
