[2] English ornithologist John Latham described the pallid cuckoo in 1801 as Columba pallida "pale pigeon".

[7] Other common names include unadorned cuckoo,[8] semitone-bird, scale-bird,[9] and brain-fever bird—from its monotonous repetitive call.

The cuckoo then migrates to South East Australia's coastal region and Tasmania, arriving generally around September or October, sometimes earlier.

[12] The pallid cuckoo has been observed in various different habitats such as in woodland, shrubland, mangrove forest, pastoral country, farmland, golf courses and gardens.

[11] The pallid cuckoo predates primarily on insects such as caterpillars, by hopping down from vantage points to seize their prey either on trees or in the grass.

The pallid cuckoo is recorded to have exploited over 100 different species of passerines, though not all of these have been observed to raise chicks to fledgling.