NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
White-crowned Cuckoo
Caliechthrus leucolophus (S. Müller, 1840)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The white-crowned cuckoo or white-crowned koel (Caliechthrus leucolophus) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It was formerly placed in the genus Cacomantis but is now the only species placed in the genus Caliechthrus. It is found in New Guinea and neighbouring Salawati Island.
It was originally described in 1840 by the German naturalist Salomon Müller as Cuculus leucolophus.
Wikipedia contributors, White-crowned cuckoo; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:45:29.189728+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Caliechthrus leucolophus (S. Müller, 1840)
- Name authority
- (S. Müller, 1840)
- Common name
- White-crowned Cuckoo
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Cuculiformes
- Family
- Cuculidae
- Genus
- Caliechthrus
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderCuculiformes
- familyCuculidae
- genusCaliechthrus Cabanis & Heine, 1862
- speciesCaliechthrus leucolophus (S. Müller, 1840)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Cacomantis castaneiventris castaneiventris (Gould, 1867) (Gould, 1867) | synonym |
| Cacomantis leucolophus (S. Müller, 1840) (S. Müller, 1840) | synonym |
| Cuculus leucolophus S. Müller, 1840 S. Müller, 1840 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
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.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=554714 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:PK4P. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.