Fan-tailed Cuckoo has white stripes on the tail and a white line on the wing. The upper body and head is grey and the underparts are a pale red-brown. The tail is dark-brown with the underside striped black and white. There is a yellow ring around the eyes and a small white patch on the shoulders. Young birds have a duller body with brown stripes and brown edges on feathers. They can grow up to 30cm long. Female Fan-tailed Cuckoos lay their eggs in nests made by other birds, such as thornbills or fairy-wrens. Their preferred habitat is forests and woodlands. (Source: Atlas of Living Australia, n.d.), (Image: Rick Francks).

Small bird with coppery bronze bars on a white chest. They have a metallic green nap and copper-coloured cap. Their feet are black with yellow undersides. With a slender bill the Shining Bronze-Cuckoos usually eat insects and their larvae, especially hairy caterpillars, which they snatch from the foliage of trees and shrubs. The caterpillars are manipulated and squeezed with the beak to separate the innards from the hairy skin. The Shining Bronze-cuckoos do not build nests; instead they parasitise the domed nests of thornbills, fairy wrens and scrub wrens. They lay a single egg after ejecting one of the host eggs. After hatching, the juvenile cuckoo ejects any host nestling from the nest. They are general solitary birds or gather in very small groups during breading. During migration they may congregate in flocks of up to 100. They live in forested areas, open woodlands, parks and gardens. (Source: Birdlife Australia, n.d.), (Image: David Siu).

Easily identified by its entirely glossy black plumage, tinged with blue and green, and its striking red eye. The female has glossy brown upperparts, heavily spotted with white, and a black crown. The underparts are generally buff-cream with numerous fine black bars. They grow to 46 cm. A migratory bird that arrives in late September and early October from south-east Asia to breed, and returns north in March. Although rarely seen, it is well known for its loud, repetitive calls, particularly in the early morning. It is a member of the cuckoo family and lays its eggs in the nests of wattlebirds, friarbirds, magpie-larks and figbirds. Adults are cryptic and they are heard much more than they are seen. In contrast to the adults, fledglings can be very conspicuous as they beg loudly for food from their foster parents. The male advertises its presence by a loud ascending whistle or 'koo-el', monotonously repeated; the call of the female is a repetitive 'keek-keek-keek-keek'. Males often call throughout the day and well into the night. They live in tall forests and are common in suburban areas. (Source: Atlas of Living Australia, n.d.), (Image: M. Dahlem).