Diederick's Cuckoo
(Dideric Cuckoo)
Chrysococcyx caprius
Male bird. Near Lake Elementaita, Nakuru Co., Kenya. October 2016. A female bird from same location in photo at right.
When moving among trees in the forest canopy the dark brown and green dorsum hides the bird from above while the white belly and breast obscures a clear view of the bird from below. In this way the bird hides from its prey while hiding from its own predators. The cuckoo parasitizes other birds' nests by laying its eggs for the nest owner to incubate, protect and feed. Sometimes Diderick Cuckoos predate the eggs of potential host birds.
Cuculidae -- Cuckoo Family
Books:
- Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania by Zimmerman et al.
- Birds of East Africa by Stevenson and Fanshawe