of both hairy and smooth caterpillars, but also includes other insects such as beetles and winged termites. It perches almost vertically. The male is territorial, and in southern Africa, a pair of African cuckoos occupy a territory of greater than , driving off other cuckoos. Like many other cuckoos, the African cuckoo is a brood parasite, the female laying her eggs in the nests of birds of other species, removing an egg already present in the nest. Target hosts vary across the range, and the cuckoo's eggs usually closely match in colour and size the eggs of the host species; the yellow-billed shrike (Corvinella corvina) and fork-tailed drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis) are often targeted. Incubation lasts between twelve and seventeen days, but usually twelve days, with the eggs hatching before those of the host. The cuckoo chick ejects from the nest any other eggs and nestlings it encounters. Its eyes open after eight days and it fledges in three weeks, remaining dependent on its foster parents for several more weeks. Breeding success rate in South Africa is up to 38 percent, and one yellow-billed shrike nest was abandoned by the foster-parents before the cuckoo chick fledged, with a new nest being built elsewhere. Status C. gularis is a fairly common bird with a wide range. No particular threats have been identified and the population is believed to be steady, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern". References External links Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. African cuckoo African cuckoo African cuckoo African cuckoo Taxonomy articles created by Polbot