The Black Spur-winged Cuckoo is a medium-sized bird from the cuckoo family. It lives in Africa south of the Sahara, runs through the grass, and has black plumage during the breeding season.
The black spur coucal differs from many cuckoos in that it builds its own nest and raises its chicks instead of laying eggs in other birds' nests. It helps nature by eating harmful insects in Africa's grassy areas.
meadows, prairies, forb glades on land
Worker
birth time
Hot and almost no precipitation
Picking small food items from foliage, ground, or other surfaces.
Heavy rains in summer
live adult frogs and toads
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
very hot and very humid all year round, rain almost every day
days
Warm summer
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
very heavy rains in summer, almost no precipitation in winter
beak
adult
Maturity
plant
insects
About health
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
summer warm, winter not very cold
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
feet
Gremllins
mo
hot, rains in summer, little precipitation in winter
rains are very rare, almost a desert
little precipitation in winter, more in summer
walking
Trophic type
Filters
running
summer very hot, dry, lots of grass
Upcoming birthdays
Breeding structure built or used for laying eggs and raising offspring.
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
leaf
16 to 24 grams, 7 – 12 centimeters
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
Hot, little precipitation in winter
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
Food items are collected from exposed outer surfaces of substrates.
Wings size
small reptiles
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
young after fast growth
Juvenile stage following larval metamorphosis but not yet adult.
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
Wings color
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
hot, uneven rains, lots of grass and trees
gleaning
Egg count
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
Pets
Hot steppe
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
Legs size
{name} jubilee
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
Wingspan
turns
Rascals
terrestrial grassland and steppe
terrestrial herbaceous
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Litter size
Tropical savanna
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Egg color
Where are they found?
Low precipitation in winter
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
Taxons
carnivore
if born as {name}
age
birth date
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
climbing
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
surface
primary food sources
Beak size
Potential Habitat
lots of grass, few trees, rains are rare
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Mass
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
Gestation
{name} birthday
Food is gathered directly from leaf surfaces.
Always hot
No results found
Hunting on land
On the map
lunge
all life stages
Female ♀
world of Afrotropics
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
Maturity
Skin color
steppe
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
Beak color
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
baby / chick
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
Legs color
What if eaten?
spiders
Very dry
Neither
Moving up vertical surfaces like trunks or rocks to reach food.
from birth to adulthood
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
nest
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
Plumage color
world of Afrotropics
Duration
live insects
Always hot and wet
This is me
Steppe
Gamers
How are they built?
frogs and toads
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
live spiders — arachnids of all sizes
terrestrial
Asexual
swap
active predation
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
celebrated their {n} birthday
open grassy spaces — steppes, savannas, prairies
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
very hot all year round, frequent rains, but sometimes dry
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
very hot and almost no precipitation
foraging
Hermaphrodite ⚥
Mandarin
embryo
Hard, projecting mouthpart used to probe, pluck, or crack food.
Length
kg
Rapid forward strike to seize prey.
Observations
small lizards and snakes
◉{N} more on tap