This unusual cuckoo was discovered by the naturalist, Hugh Cuming (1791-1865), who found it in the dense forests of south-east Luzon, Philippine Islands.
This species differs from all other cuckoos in having feathers with peculiar scale-like black tips on its head and throat. Gould remarked that the only other birds which possessed similar horny-tipped feathers were the Curl-crested Toucan of the Amazon, and the Open-bill Stork of Africa.
The total length of the cuckoo is 17 inches.
R.B. Sharpe, Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 1873, p.601, fig.6
DISTRIBUTION: Northern Philippines: Luzon, Catanduanes and Marinduque