CreatureData

Long-tailed koel

Urodynamis taitensis (Sparrman, 1787)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The long-tailed koel (Urodynamis taitensis) is a species in the family Cuculidae, order Cuculiformes. Recorded adults weigh 110.4 g to 124.2 g. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Long-tailed koel (Urodynamis taitensis)
Photo: J. G. Keulemans delt. & lith. [Plate XIV, 1888]. · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the long-tailed koel

Weight
110.4 g – 124.2 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
1src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
1 countrysrc for Countries on record

Where does the long-tailed koel live?

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

The long-tailed koel is listed for 1 country.

Australia
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Australia

Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.

What is the long-tailed koel?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The long-tailed koel (Urodynamis taitensis), also known as the long-tailed cuckoo, Pacific long-tailed cuckoo, sparrow hawk, home owl, screecher, screamer or koekoeā in Māori, is a species of the Cuculidae bird family (the cuckoos). It is the only species placed in the genus Urodynamis. It is a migratory bird that spends spring and summer in New Zealand, its only breeding place, and spends winter in the Pacific islands. It is a brood parasite, laying its eggs in the nests of other bird species and leaving them to raise its chicks.

From the Wikipedia article “Long-tailed koel” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Long-tailed_koel&oldid=1353537475), 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 long-tailed koel endangered?

The long-tailed koel 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 long-tailed koel classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCuculiformes
  5. familyCuculidae
  6. genusUrodynamis
  7. SpeciesUrodynamis taitensis (Sparrman, 1787)

Synonyms Cuculus taitensis, Eudynamys taitensis, Urodynamis taitensis belli, Urodynamis taitensis pheletes, Urodynamys taitensis, Urodynamys taitensis taitensis

Other names and names in other languages (41)
  • Long-tailed cuckooEnglish
  • Long-tailed cuckooEnglish
  • Long-tailed cuckooEnglish
  • LTCEnglish
  • Pacific long-tailed cuckooEnglish
  • Pacific long-tailed cuckooEnglish
  • وقواق طويل الذيل الهاديArabic
  • cucut coel del PacíficCatalan
  • kukačka dlouhoocasáCzech
  • cöel cynffonhirWelsh
  • Langhalet KoelDanish
  • LangschwanzkoelGerman
  • Neuseeland-KoelGerman
  • Neuseeland-KoёlGerman
  • longvosta kukoloEsperanto
  • Koel colilargoSpanish
  • maoori koelkäguEstonian
  • atollikäkiFinnish
  • Coucou de Nouvelle-ZélandeFrench
  • novozelandska kukavicaCroatian
  • hosszúfarkú koelHungarian
  • Koel codalungaItalian
  • キジカッコウJapanese
  • ilgauodegis koelisLithuanian
  • KaweauMāori
  • KoekoeāMāori
  • KohoperoaMāori
  • LangstaartkoëlDutch
  • langhalekoelNorwegian
  • kukiel długosternyPolish
  • koel-rabilongoPortuguese
  • coel-neozelandêsPortuguese
  • Длиннохвостый коэльRussian
  • kukučka koeliaSlovak
  • Dugorepi koelSerbian
  • långstjärtad koelSwedish
  • KalevaTongan
  • Uzun Kuyruklu KoelTurkish
  • коель новозеландськийUkrainian
  • 長尾噪鵑Chinese
  • 长尾噪鹃Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the long-tailed koel

Other species in the same family Cuculidae.

LC, Least Concern
Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus)

Asian koel

Eudynamys scolopaceus

Cuculidae

CompareLong-tailed koel vs Common cuckooLong-tailed koel vs Asian koelLong-tailed koel vs Jacobin cuckooLong-tailed koel vs Greater coucal

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the long-tailed koel?

An adult long-tailed koel weighs 110.4 g – 124.2 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the long-tailed koel live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the long-tailed koel for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

Is the long-tailed koel endangered?

The long-tailed koel is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the long-tailed koel?

The long-tailed koel (Urodynamis taitensis) 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). Long-tailed koel (Urodynamis taitensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/long-tailed-koel

MLA

“Long-tailed koel (Urodynamis taitensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/long-tailed-koel.

BibTeX
@misc{long_tailed_koel_2026,
  title = {Long-tailed koel (Urodynamis taitensis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/long-tailed-koel},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}