African Cuckoos

African Cuckoos is a field research project exploring brood parasites and other notable birds in Africa. A project of the Max Planck–University of Cape Town Centre for Behaviour and Coevolution, it focuses on how parasites and their hosts adapt to one another. Its researchers study cuckoo finches, indigobirds and whydahs, honeyguides, cuckoos, and migratory birds, with fieldwork in Choma, Zambia, dating back to 2006.

The project is jointly based at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Zoology and the University of Cape Town’s FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology. It is led by Professor Claire Spottiswoode and co-led by Dr Gabriel Jamie, working with Zambian colleagues on research, public outreach, and capacity-building. African Cuckoos shares information about its work and study species, alongside team profiles, fieldwork photographs, publications, and research news. These resources introduce visitors to brood parasitism, nest camouflage, and the evolutionary conflict between parasites and host birds. The project’s website also highlights its collaborators and supporters, helping make its ongoing African bird research accessible to a wider audience.