UGANDA BIRD GUIDES
Petit's Cuckoo-Shrike
a.k.a
Campephaga petiti
Planning a birding Safari at the end your next business trip to Africa...? Get ready to meet Petit's Cuckoo-Shrike during your eveining uphill walk at Buhoma in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
The Petit’s cuckoo-shrike was scientifically named in 1884 by Oustalet. The Male bird is all black with yellow gapes, and the female bird is yellow with vertical bars on the side of her breast. You will find these birds alone, in pairs or as members of mixed-species flocks. Cuckoo-shrikes are medium-seized rather quiet birds which tend to keep a horizontal posture as they move actively, but slowly through cover. |
In this section of the Birding Safari Guide we share with you information about Petit's Cuckoo-Shrikes in Uganda in order to make your Bird watching tour to Africa even more captivating.
You will find information about:
- Where to find the Petit's Cuckoo-Shrike in Uganda
- How to Identify Petit's Cuckoo-Shrike and
- Interesting facts about Petit's Cuckoo-Shrikes.
Where to find Petit's Cuckoo-Shrike in Uganda
In Africa, the natural habitat for Petit's Cuckoo-Shrikes are tropical and sub-tropical moist lowland forests and sub-tropical and tropical moist montanes.
During your birding safari to Uganda, you will easily find these birds in the Western part of the country around Buhoma, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Kibaale Forest and Mount Rwenzori, in habiting the middle levels and cannopy of the forests from 1400-1800m.
How you will know that you've seen Petit's Cuckoo-Shrike
Male birds from the Campephaga family are all a similar blue-black with orange-yellow gapes, could easily be confused with several other species like drongos or black flycatchers, but those other species sit upright.
Female birds are distinctively marked with yellow, grey, white and black.
To identify an adult male Petit's Cuckoo-Shrike, you will see a medium sized bird about 20cm long, with large and conspicuous orange-yellow gape wattles.
The adult female can easily be confused with the female Purple-throated Cuckoo-shrike, but her upperparts are strongly barred blackish on yellow and olive-green, and her wings are blackish with bright yellow edgings. The underparts are bright yellow with a variable amount of black barring.
The Immature birds are similar to the female bird but may be virtually unbarred above.
Interesting Facts about Petit's Cuckoo-Shrikes
The song of Petit's Cuckoo-Shrikes is a strong, rythmical whistled series sisisi-seeuu... the first notes identical, and the last notes falling in tone.
| Did you know? The female Petit's Cuckoo-Shrike lays 2-3eggs and incubation is done by either sex. |
Petit's Cuckoo-Shrikes feed on small insects like spiders, seeds and grain.
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