Common name: Great Spotted Cuckoo
Scientific name: Clamator glandarius
Family: Cuculidae

Size:
Body length: 35–39 cm
Weight: approximately 124–125 g

Identification:
A large, long-tailed cuckoo with broad rounded wings and a noticeable crest. Adults are grey-brown above with numerous small white spots, while the underparts are pale buff to whitish. The crown and ear coverts are silvery-grey and the flight feathers are dark. Juveniles are darker, with a blackish head, chestnut-rufous wings and paler buff underparts.

Habitat:
Open woodland, scrub, acacia and tamarisk areas, bushy slopes, cultivated land with scattered trees and similar open habitats. During migration it may also appear around farms and other vegetated areas.

Status in the UAE:
A vagrant in the UAE. The UAE checklist documents only a small number of confirmed records, including birds at Ain al-Fayda and Jebel Hafit in 2008, Wamm Farms in 2011, 2012 and 2017, and Al Qua'a Fodder Field in 2013. It is not recorded as a breeding species in the UAE.

Diet:
Feeds mainly on insects, particularly caterpillars, as well as termites, ants, grasshoppers and beetles. Small lizards may also occasionally be taken. It forages both on the ground and in bushes and can catch flying insects in the air.

Behavior:
A diurnal and often conspicuous cuckoo that spends considerable time moving between trees and shrubs or hopping on the ground with its tail raised. It can also remain hidden in low vegetation. The species is a brood parasite, laying its eggs in the nests of other birds, particularly corvids such as magpies and crows.

Conservation Status:
Global: Least Concern (LC)
UAE National Red List: Not listed in the UAE National Red List assessment