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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo

Chalcites basalis (Horsfield, 1821)

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo

Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo

JJ Harrison · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image source

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Open encyclopedia reference

Horsfield's bronze cuckoo (Chalcites basalis) is a small cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. Its size averages 22 g (0.78 oz) and is distinguished by its green and bronze iridescent colouring on its back and incomplete brown barring from neck to tail. Horsfield's bronze cuckoo can be distinguished from other bronze cuckoos by its white eyebrow and brown eye stripe. The Horsfield's bronze cuckoo is common throughout Australia preferring the drier open woodlands away from forested areas. This species was formerly placed in the genus Chrysococcyx.

Wikipedia contributors, Horsfield's bronze cuckoo; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:13:24.347734+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Chalcites basalis (Horsfield, 1821)
Name authority
(Horsfield, 1821)
Common name
Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Cuculiformes
Family
Cuculidae
Genus
Chalcites
Extinction status
Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classAves
  9. orderCuculiformes
  10. familyCuculidae
  11. genusChalcites Lesson, 1830
  12. speciesChalcites basalis (Horsfield, 1821)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Chalcites. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Long-billed CuckooChalcites megarhynchus (G. R. Gray, 1858)CuculidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant

Browse 88 records assigned to Cuculidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Recorded nameSource status
Cuculus basalis Horsfield, 1821 Horsfield, 1821synonym
Chrysococcyx basalis (Horsfield, 1821) (Horsfield, 1821)synonym

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Australia

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1243965 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:CNJTR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.