Diederik cuckoo

Chrysococcyx caprius

The Diederik cuckoo (Chrysococcyx caprius) is a bird found in South Africa, Kenya and Uganda. Open woods and gardens across sub-Saharan Africa. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, small mammals and birds and seeds and nuts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Chrysococcyx caprius
Region	Africa
Found in	South Africa, Kenya and Uganda

🏡 Where the Diederik cuckoo lives

Open woods and gardens across sub-Saharan Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs80%
🐭 Mammals & birds10%
🌰 Seeds & nuts10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It lays its eggs in other birds' nests, who raise the chicks.

Hear the Diederik cuckoo

Recorded by Lynette Rudman (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC685548. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Diederik cuckoo

Where does the Diederik cuckoo live?

The Diederik cuckoo lives in South Africa, Kenya and Uganda. Open woods and gardens across sub-Saharan Africa.

What does the Diederik cuckoo eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 80%), small mammals and birds (about 10%), seeds and nuts (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Diederik cuckoo endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Africa

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.