Cacomantis is a genus of cuckoos in the family Cuculidae. The name is from the Ancient Greek κακομαντις (kakomantis) meaning "prophet of evil". Most species have a round nostril and are mainly in brown and gray colours. The tails are graduated and barred. The bars are transverse in sonneratii and oblique in all others.[2]
| Cacomantis | |
|---|---|
| |
| Fan-tailed cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Cuculiformes |
| Family: | Cuculidae |
| Genus: | Cacomantis S. Müller, 1843 |
| Type species | |
| Cuculus flavus[1] = Cuculus merulinus Gmelin, 1788
| |
Taxonomy
editThe genus Cacomantis was introduced in 1843 by the German naturalist Salomon Müller.[3] He did not specify a type species; this was subsequently designated as Cuculus flavus Gmelin, a junior synonym of Cuculus merulinus Scopoli (the plaintive cuckoo).[4][5] The genus name is from the Ancient Greek kakomantis meaning "prophet of doom".[6] Müller explained that local people on the Maluku Islands thought of these species as "birds of misfortune" due to their mournful calls and their frequent presence in cemeteries.[3]
Species
editThe genus contains 11 species:[7]
- Chestnut-breasted cuckoo, Cacomantis castaneiventris
- Fan-tailed cuckoo, Cacomantis flabelliformis
- Banded bay cuckoo, Cacomantis sonneratii
- Plaintive cuckoo, Cacomantis merulinus
- Grey-bellied cuckoo, Cacomantis passerinus
- Sunda brush cuckoo or rusty-breasted cuckoo, Cacomantis sepulcralis
- Sulawesi brush cuckoo, Cacomantis virescens (split from C. sepulcralis)
- Sahul brush cuckoo or brush cuckoo, Cacomantis variolosus
- Manus brush cuckoo, Cacomantis blandus (split from C. variolosus)
- Solomons brush cuckoo, Cacomantis addendus (split form C. variolosus)
- Moluccan brush cuckoo or Moluccan cuckoo, Cacomantis aeruginosus
The pallid cuckoo (Heteroscenes pallidus) and the white-crowned cuckoo (Caliechthrus leucolophus) were formerly placed in this genus. They are now each placed in their own monotypic genus.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Cuculidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
- ^ Payne, RB (2005). The Cuckoos. Oxford University Press. p. 422
- ^ a b Müller, Salomon (1843). Verhandelingen over de natuurlijke geschiedenis (in Dutch). Vol. 1: Land-en Volkenkunde. Leiden: In commissie bij. S. en J. Luchtmans en C.C. van der Hoek. p. 177, Footnote.
- ^ Salvadori, Tommaso (1880). Ornitologia della Papuasia e delle Molucche (in Italian). Vol. 1. Torino: G.B. Paravia. p. 331.
- ^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1940). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 4. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 22.
- ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2024). "Turacos, bustards, cuckoos, mesites, sandgrouse". IOC World Bird List Version 14.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
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