What to Know About the Jacobin Cuckoo in Uganda?

The Jacobin Cuckoo in Uganda is one of the African birds of Uganda seen during Uganda birding safaris & Tours. It is a member of the subfamily Cuculinae within the large family Cuculidae that includes the Old World brood-parasitic cuckoos.

It is found in sub-Saharan Africa and in India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. It is sometimes confused with the larger and heavier Levaillant’s Cuckoo.

The Jacobin Cuckoo frequents dry, thorny scrubs and open woodlands. It is a common intra-African migrant commonly found in Murchison falls national park-Uganda.

Its movements are complex and probably associated with rains. It as length: 34-35 cm, Weight: 72 g.

How Does the Jacobin Cuckoo in Uganda Look Like?

The Jacobin Cuckoo adult of nominate race (not displayed) has glossy black or dark brown upperparts with a white wing bar visible on closed wings but more conspicuous in flight.

The long, graduated tail is tipped white. The underparts are white. The head is black, but lower cheeks, chin and throat are white.

We can see a pointed crest on the nape. The bill is black. The eyes are dark brown. Legs and feet are grey. Male and female are similar.

The juvenile is browner above and buffy-white below. It has reduced crest, and smaller white wing bar, but the tail is tipped white like in adults. The bill is black with yellow-orange gape. The eyes are dark brown.

How Does the Jacobin Cuckoo in Uganda Sing and Make Calls?

The Jacobin Cuckoo is fairly noisy. The call is a harsh, loud, metallic “kleeuw-we-wip” or a repeated “klee-klee-kleeuu-kleeuu”, a laughing call similar to Levaillant’s Cuckoo’s call, but less harsh.

This call is given by both male and female, before a loud “tacka-tacka-tacka-tacka” which fades away.

How Does the Jacobin Cuckoo in Uganda Feed?

The Jacobin Cuckoo feeds mainly on hairy caterpillars, but it also takes various insects such as mantids, grasshoppers and termites.

In addition, it feeds on some snails and berries. The female eats the eggs of the host species before laying its own eggs.

It is usually active in low shrubby acacia areas, feeding mainly in trees and bushes, snatching insects from foliage. But it may come to the ground and hops while searching for food. But it is chiefly arboreal.

How Does the Jacobin Cuckoo in Uganda Breed?

The arrival on the breeding grounds is related to rains and caterpillar abundance. It reaches more equatorial woodlands during the dry season.

Two birds can be seen chasing one another in flight, probably as courtship display before mating.

How Does the Jacobin Cuckoo in Uganda Reproduce?

The Jacobin Cuckoo usually lays 25 eggs per season in different nests. The female lays one egg per nest, rarely two.

There are sometimes more cuckoo’s eggs, but they are the result of the laying of several females in the same nest.

The eggs are glossy white in South Africa, and mostly greenish-blue in India, Sri Lanka and some regions of Africa.

Eviction of eggs or chicks of the host by the young cuckoo is weakly developed in this species, and may occur within the first 24 hours after hatching.

But usually, the chick’s host is trodden into the bottom of the nest and dies by starving. It is removed by the parents and the young cuckoo is tended by both foster parents.

The incubation lasts 10-11 days. The young fledge 17-18 days after hatching. It is fully independent one month later