Where are cuckoos found around the world?

The family Cuculidae is distributed virtually worldwide, inhabiting both temperate and tropical regions, though they are most diverse in the Old World tropics.12

While the family is widespread, the distribution of specific subfamilies is often restricted to particular hemispheres:

• Old World: The subfamilies Cuculinae, Centropodinae, and Couinae are limited to the Old World.1
• New World: The subfamily Crotophaginae is found exclusively in the New World, while the Neomorphinae are primarily in the New World with one genus in Southeast Asia.1
• Both Hemispheres: The subfamily Phaenicophaeinae is represented in the tropics of both hemispheres.1

Many genera are highly localized—such as those found only in New Guinea, the Philippine Islands, or the West Indies—while others are cosmopolitan or wide-ranging across Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe. As a group, these birds typically favor forest habitats, dense thickets, or open woodlands, though some species are adapted to savanna or desert environments.132