Cacomantis is a genus of cuckoos in the family Cuculidae. The name is from the Ancient Greek κακομαντις (kakomantis) meaning "prophet of evil". Most species have a round nostril and are mainly in brown and gray colours. The tails are graduated and barred. The bars are transverse in sonneratii and oblique in all others.[2]
Taxonomy
The genus Cacomantis was introduced in 1843 by the German naturalist Salomon Müller.[3] He did not specify a type species; this was subsequently designated as Cuculus flavusGmelin, a junior synonym of Cuculus merulinusScopoli (the plaintive cuckoo).[4][5] The genus name is from the Ancient Greekkakomantis meaning "prophet of doom".[6] Müller explained that local people on the Maluku Islands thought of these species as "birds of misfortune" due to their mournful calls and their frequent presence in cemeteries.[3]
The pallid cuckoo (Heteroscenes pallidus) and the white-crowned cuckoo (Caliechthrus leucolophus) were formerly placed in this genus. They are now each placed in their own monotypic genus.[7]
References
^"Cuculidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
^Payne, RB (2005). The Cuckoos. Oxford University Press. p. 422