the adult is pale grey on the head, chest, belly and back, becoming paler and barred lower down on the belly. The wings are darker grey with dark tips on the feathers. The tail is dark grey on top and barred underneath with a black band and white tip at the end. The feet and legs are black, and the eye is surrounded by prominent red skin. While most other very large cuckoos are rather terrestrial (i.e. roadrunners or the genus Neomorphus), the channel-billed cuckoo is fairly arboreal and is capable both in trees and on the ground. The channel-billed cuckoo is a strong flier, with a distinctive, almost hawk-like cross-shaped (cruciform) flight silhouette. There is some sexual dimorphism in both plumage and dimensions, the female having a smaller bill and paler, more barred undersides. The juvenile is similar to the adult but has pale tips to the feathers of the wings, and the rest of the plumage is buff instead of pale grey. The bill is less massive and dirty pink in colour, and the skin around the eye is not red. Distribution and habitat The channel-billed cuckoo has a widespread distribution across northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, and the islands of eastern Indonesia as far west as Sulawesi. The species is a permanent resident in the Bismarck Archipelago, Flores and Sulawesi. Elsewhere within its range it is migratory. Birds breeding in Australia range from north eastern Western Australia through the Northern Territory and Queensland down into eastern New South Wales as far as Sydney. In recent years, the breeding range of these cuckoos appears to have extended further down the south coast of NSW. A few stragglers reach the eastern tip of Victoria, but are not thought to breed there. Vagrant birds have reached New Zealand and New Caledonia. After the breeding season, in March and April, birds breeding in Australia begin to migrate northwards to their wintering grounds in New Guinea and Indonesia. Birds breeding in New South Wales begin leaving earlier, in February and March. The migration route is across the Torres Strait, travelling individually or in small groups. From New Guinea they migrate across the nearby islands as far as Timor and the Moluccas. It is not known if the species breeds in New Guinea, as some birds are present there all year. Migrating channel-billed cuckoos begin to return to Australia