CreatureData

African cuckoo

Cuculus gularis Stephens, 1815

LCLeast Concernbirds

The African cuckoo (Cuculus gularis) is a species in the family Cuculidae, order Cuculiformes. Recorded adults weigh 103 g to 117 g and live up to 12.9 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

African cuckoo (Cuculus gularis)
Photo: Flickr user Alastair Rae . Photo uploaded to commons by user ltshears · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the African cuckoo

Weight
103 g – 117 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
12.9 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
12.9 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrublandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
12.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
9.2src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
12src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the African cuckoo live?

Not recorded

What is the African cuckoo?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The African cuckoo or African grey cuckoo (Cuculus gularis) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa where it migrates within the continent, generally arriving and breeding in any one locality during the rainy season. A fairly common bird, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

From the Wikipedia article “African cuckoo” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=African_cuckoo&oldid=1380727466), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the African cuckoo endangered?

The African cuckoo is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the African cuckoo classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCuculiformes
  5. familyCuculidae
  6. genusCuculus
  7. SpeciesCuculus gularis Stephens, 1815

Synonyms Cuculus canorus gularis, Cuculus lineatus

Other names and names in other languages (37)
  • AFCUEnglish
  • African grey cuckooEnglish
  • African grey cuckooEnglish
  • وقواق أفريقيArabic
  • Африканска кукувицаBulgarian
  • Koukoug AfrikaBreton
  • cucut africàCatalan
  • kukačka africkáCzech
  • cog AffricaWelsh
  • Afrikansk GøgDanish
  • AfrikakuckuckGerman
  • AfrikanerkuckuckGerman
  • afrika kukoloEsperanto
  • Cuco barbiblancoSpanish
  • savannikäguEstonian
  • afrikankäkiFinnish
  • Coucou africainFrench
  • Cuach AfracachIrish
  • Cooag AffrickaghManx
  • siva kukavicaCroatian
  • afrikai kakukkHungarian
  • Cuculo africanoItalian
  • アフリカカッコウJapanese
  • afrikinė gegutėLithuanian
  • Afrikaanse KoekoekDutch
  • afrikagjøkNorwegian
  • kukułka sawannowaPolish
  • cuco-africanoPortuguese
  • Африканская кукушкаRussian
  • Африканская обыкновенная кукушкаRussian
  • kukučka akáciováSlovak
  • Afrička kukavicaSerbian
  • afrikansk gökSwedish
  • Afrika GuguğuTurkish
  • зозуля савановаUkrainian
  • 非洲杜鵑Chinese
  • 非洲杜鹃Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the African cuckoo

Other species in the same genus Cuculus.

CompareAfrican cuckoo vs Common cuckooAfrican cuckoo vs Lesser cuckooAfrican cuckoo vs Himalayan cuckooAfrican cuckoo vs Indian cuckoo

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the African cuckoo?

An adult African cuckoo weighs 103 g – 117 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the African cuckoo endangered?

The African cuckoo is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the African cuckoo live?

The African cuckoo has a recorded lifespan of 12.9 years.

What kind of animal is the African cuckoo?

The African cuckoo (Cuculus gularis) belongs to the family Cuculidae in the order Cuculiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). African cuckoo (Cuculus gularis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-cuckoo

MLA

“African cuckoo (Cuculus gularis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-cuckoo.

BibTeX
@misc{african_cuckoo_2026,
  title = {African cuckoo (Cuculus gularis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-cuckoo},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}