[2] The species was described in 1868 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis based on a specimen from East Africa, probably from the coast opposite Zanzibar.

[7] The yellow areas become increasingly bright prior to the breeding season as the feathers become worn.

[7] The cuckoo-finch has a scattered distribution across sub-Saharan Africa where it occurs in open or lightly wooded grassland, especially near damp areas.

[8] In West Africa, it occurs in Guinea, Sierra Leone, the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, eastern Nigeria, and north-west Cameroon with vagrant records from Gambia and Mali.

[11] It has a large range and an apparently stable population and so is classified as least concern by BirdLife International.

[9] The species is an obligate brood parasite, laying its eggs in the nests of cisticolas and prinias.

The eggs are white, pale blue or pink with brown, reddish or violet markings.