Rusty-breasted Cuckoo

Rusty-breasted Cuckoo

Cacomantis variolosus

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

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Raja Ampat

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

183 Verified sightings at Raja Ampat From 2019 to 2026
1,232 In all 21 parks
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Rusty-breasted Cuckoo

The Sahul brush cuckoo (Cacomantis variolosus), formerly known as the brush cuckoo, is a member of the cuckoo family. It is native to Malesia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and northern and eastern Australia. It is a grey-brown bird with a buff breast. Its call is a familiar sound of the Australian and Indonesian bush.

The Manus brush cuckoo (Cacomantis blandus) and the Solomons brush cuckoo... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:09

Australia · 2024

© Tom Cooney · XC1104906 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:26

Australia · 2025

© Étienne Leroy · XC1070884 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song and call1:29

Australia · 2025

© Peter Boesman · XC1066410 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kakadu National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
2 Raja Ampat 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~20%
3 Daintree National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
4 Litchfield National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
5 Kosciuszko National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
6 Springbrook National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
7 Tangkoko Nature Reserve 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
8 Bali Barat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
9 Khao Luang National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
10 Kerinci Seblat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
11 Way Kambas National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%
12 Nitmiluk National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
13 Taman Negara National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
14 Lamington National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
15 Noosa National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
16 Booderee National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
17 Sepilok 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
18 Great Otway National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
19 Danum Valley Conservation Area 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
20 Blue Mountains National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
21 Kinabalu Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Brisbane 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
2 Denpasar 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%
3 Cebu City 🇵🇭 Philippines
<5%
4 Manila 🇵🇭 Philippines
<5%
5 Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
6 Jakarta 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%
7 Singapore 🇸🇬 Singapore
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Rusty-breasted Cuckoo in Raja Ampat?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Rusty-breasted Cuckoo sighting in Raja Ampat on a given day, based on 183 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 71st most-seen of the 200 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Rusty-breasted Cuckoo in Raja Ampat?

May and October

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Rusty-breasted Cuckoo in Raja Ampat on a given day, against under 5% in November, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a Rusty-breasted Cuckoo?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rusty-breasted 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.

Is Raja Ampat the best place to see a Rusty-breasted Cuckoo?

Among the best

Of the 21 parks where we can rate Rusty-breasted Cuckoo sightings, Raja Ampat ranks 2nd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Kakadu National Park (Australia, about 20%).

Where does the Rusty-breasted Cuckoo sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Rusty-breasted Cuckoo is recorded against all the birds logged in Raja Ampat (183 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.

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