Meet Diederik Cuckoo, One Of The Most Beautiful Bird In The World

This article is about Diederik cuckoo (Chrysococcyx caprius). I wrote it for two reasons: to talk a bit about beauty of this amazing bird and to illustrate something about these birds biology. They are more than just pretty colours. Diederik cuckoo are inter-African migrants that are coming back to SA around now (October), and their breeding season is about to get started. So it is a good time to learn something about them.

Like many birds, Diederik cuckoo are dimorphic, that is, males and females differ in appearance. As is common, the male birds have a brighter, more 'flashy' coloration with more distinct markings, while the females are plainer and more camouflaged. Despite being plainer, the females are still quite colourful, and have a beauty all their own.