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Photo: Christiaan Viljoen · CC BY 4.0 · source ↗
Black Cuckoo
Swartkoekoek · Cuculus clamosus
An all-black summer cuckoo, easily mistaken for a drongo but lacking the forked tail. Its mournful 'I'm so saad' whistle drifts from dense cover. It parasitises shrikes and bush-shrikes, laying its eggs in their nests, and leaves the park entirely once the breeding season ends.
Log your Black Cuckoo sighting — free →How to identify it
All sooty-black with a mournful falling whistle; lacks the forked tail of a similar-looking drongo.
Listen for its call
A mournful "I'm so saaad" whistle that lifts on the last note.
Where to see it in Kruger
Thick woodland and riverine thickets in summer, usually heard not seen.
Did you know
Its sad falling whistle has earned it the nickname 'the heartbreak bird'.
Often confused with
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