Aviceda cuculoides
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
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 |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an African Cuckoo-Hawk sighting in Ruaha National Park on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 234th most-seen of the 276 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.
May
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report an African Cuckoo-Hawk in Ruaha National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June to March, the lowest months. That is one of Ruaha National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 180 mm in January.
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.
5th of 17
Of the 17 parks where we can rate African Cuckoo-Hawk sightings, Ruaha National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Odzala-Kokoua National Park (Republic of the Congo, about 20%), Meru National Park (Kenya, about 10%) and iSimangaliso Wetland Park (South Africa, about 10%).
Same family: Accipitridae
The closest relatives of the African Cuckoo-Hawk that you can see in Ruaha National Park (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are Bateleur (about 60%), African Fish-Eagle (about 50%) and Tawny Eagle (about 50%), 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 Ruaha National Park (11 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.
