CreatureData

Striped cuckoo

Tapera naevia (Linnaeus, 1766)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The striped cuckoo (Tapera naevia) is a species in the family Cuculidae, order Cuculiformes. Recorded adults weigh 42.5 g to 48.4 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Striped cuckoo (Tapera naevia)
Photo: Luiz Fernando Matos · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the striped cuckoo

Weight
42.5 g – 48.4 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
human_modifiedsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
15 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Lifestyle
Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the striped cuckoo live?

Not recorded

What is the striped cuckoo?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The striped cuckoo (Tapera naevia) is a bird, the only member of the genus Tapera. This resident cuckoo is found from Mexico and Trinidad south to Bolivia and Argentina and Colombia.

The striped cuckoo is found in open country with trees or shrubs, and the edges of mangrove forests. It is among the very few brood parasitic cuckoos of the Americas (only other are Dromococcyx), and typical hosts are spinetails, but often also wrens, and other species with domed nests. The female cuckoo lays one, sometimes two, white or bluish eggs in the host's large stick nest. The eggs hatch in 15 days, with a further 18 days until the cuckoo fledges. The young spinetails disappear.

This species is about 27 cm (11 in) long and weighs 40 g (1.4 oz). The adult is mainly grey-brown above, streaked with black and buff. It has a pale supercilium and a chestnut and black crest which is raised as part of its display. The underparts are off-white and the tail is long and graduated. Immature birds are spotted with buff and are more rufous on the back and wings.

The striped cuckoo eats large insects (primarily grasshoppers and caterpillars), often taken off the ground. This is a solitary and fairly shy species which tends to keep to the cover of bushes, although it will sing from more open perches. It has a whistled call usually of two or three notes, wu-weee or wu-wu-wee, and can be attracted by imitations of this.

From the Wikipedia article “Striped cuckoo” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Striped_cuckoo&oldid=1377427726), 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 striped cuckoo endangered?

The striped 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 striped cuckoo classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCuculiformes
  5. familyCuculidae
  6. genusTapera
  7. SpeciesTapera naevia (Linnaeus, 1766)

Synonyms Coccyzus chochi, Cuculus naevius, Diplopterus excellens, Tapera brasiliensis, Tapera naevia chochi, Tapera naevia excellens, Tapera naevia major, Tapera naevia naevia

Other names and names in other languages (49)
  • وقواق مخططArabic
  • cucut estriatCatalan
  • kukačka žíhanáCzech
  • cog resogWelsh
  • Stribet GøgDanish
  • StreifenkuckuckGerman
  • StrikukoloEsperanto
  • stria kukoloEsperanto
  • CrespínSpanish
  • Cuclillo crespínSpanish
  • Cuclillo ListadoSpanish
  • Cuclillo rayadoSpanish
  • SaucéSpanish
  • triipkäguEstonian
  • kaluunakäkiFinnish
  • Géocoucou tachetéFrench
  • ChochiGuarani
  • prugastoleđa kukavicaCroatian
  • négyszárnyú kakukkHungarian
  • TaperaItalian
  • Cuculo striatoItalian
  • セスジカッコウJapanese
  • dryžoji gegutėLithuanian
  • Gestreepte KoekoekDutch
  • stripegjøkNorwegian
  • klinochwostka paskowanaPolish
  • saciPortuguese
  • buraco-feioPortuguese
  • buraco-feitoPortuguese
  • crispimPortuguese
  • cuco-riscadoPortuguese
  • matinta-pereiraPortuguese
  • matintaperêPortuguese
  • matintapereraPortuguese
  • PeiticaPortuguese
  • seco-ficoPortuguese
  • sede-sedePortuguese
  • sem-fimPortuguese
  • tempo-quentePortuguese
  • verãoPortuguese
  • ТапераRussian
  • Четырёхкрылая кукушкаRussian
  • kukuľa pásikaváSlovak
  • Prugasta kukavicaSerbian
  • stripgökSwedish
  • Çizgili GugukTurkish
  • тахетеUkrainian
  • 縱紋鵑Chinese
  • 纵纹鹃Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the striped cuckoo

Other species in the same family Cuculidae.

LC, Least Concern
Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus)

Asian koel

Eudynamys scolopaceus

Cuculidae

CompareStriped cuckoo vs Common cuckooStriped cuckoo vs Asian koelStriped cuckoo vs Jacobin cuckooStriped cuckoo vs Greater coucal

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the striped cuckoo?

An adult striped cuckoo weighs 42.5 g – 48.4 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the striped cuckoo endangered?

The striped cuckoo 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 striped cuckoo?

The striped cuckoo (Tapera naevia) 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). Striped cuckoo (Tapera naevia). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/striped-cuckoo

MLA

“Striped cuckoo (Tapera naevia).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/striped-cuckoo.

BibTeX
@misc{striped_cuckoo_2026,
  title = {Striped cuckoo (Tapera naevia)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/striped-cuckoo},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}