The black cuckoo is a medium-sized bird with dark plumage. It lives in Africa and never builds its own nests, instead laying eggs in the nests of other birds.
The Black cuckoo differs from closely related species with the completely dark color in males and the choice of specific nest hosts. It is important for nature because it eats many harmful insects and demonstrates nest parasitism.
meadows, prairies, forb glades on land
Worker
birth time
Hot and almost no precipitation
Hot winter with almost no precipitation
Picking small food items from foliage, ground, or other surfaces.
Heavy rains in summer
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
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
About health
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
aerial
summer warm, winter not very cold
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
hot, rains in summer, little precipitation in winter
rains are very rare, almost a desert
little precipitation in winter, more in summer
Trophic type
Filters
summer very hot, dry, lots of grass
Upcoming birthdays
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
leaf
rains almost always, very humid
Parasite
Age (from birth to death)
Hot, little precipitation in winter
woodland
Wanderers
Feeding occurs in open air space above ground or water.
Wings size
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
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.
flight
Pets
Hot steppe
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
{name} jubilee
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
Wingspan
Captures prey or food items while in active flight.
turns
Rascals
terrestrial grassland and steppe
terrestrial herbaceous
insect
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Forages on tree limbs or woody stems within vegetation.
grasshoppers and crickets
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?
Species lacks any fixed or lasting shelter structure.
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
if born as {name}
Foraging takes place among trees and woody vegetation.
beetles
age
birth date
no permanent shelter
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
primary food sources
Beak size
Potential Habitat
lots of grass, few trees, rains are rare
Very hot summer
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
mother dumps offspring on other parents, like cuckoos in a nest high on branches
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
winter dry and very warm
vision
summer very hot, above +25…+30 °C
{name} birthday
Food is gathered directly from leaf surfaces.
Always hot
No results found
caterpillars
On the map
lunge
Pleasant summer
all life stages
Female ♀
insectivore
world of Afrotropics
termites
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
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
Beak color
comfortable summer, +20…+25 °C
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
baby / chick
hawking
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
What if eaten?
Very dry
Neither
Moving up vertical surfaces like trunks or rocks to reach food.
butterfly and moth caterpillars
from birth to adulthood
live beetles — various species
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
Plumage color
world of Afrotropics
branch
Duration
This is me
from 11 to 16 grams, 1.5 – 12 centimeters
Steppe
Always very wet
Gamers
How are they built?
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
foster parents
My age?
wk
My size?
terrestrial
Asexual
swap
live termites
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?
Warm summer and lots of rain
celebrated their {n} birthday
live grasshoppers, crickets, locusts
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
Capturing or collecting food while airborne.
Hermaphrodite ⚥
Strawberry
riverine
Primarily detects and locates food using eyesight.
embryo
Hard, projecting mouthpart used to probe, pluck, or crack food.
Length
kg
lots of rain, warm and pleasant summer
Rapid forward strike to seize prey.
arboreal
Observations
◉{N} more on tap