Some species of birds sing only during the breeding season, but this is not strictly true for Fan-tailed Cuckoos. Although their plaintive, descending, trilled calls are most commonly heard in forests and woodlands during the spring and early summer breeding season, they are also occasionally heard at other times of the year — sometimes they even call in winter — though less often. Some populations of the species are migratory, and birds arriving in north Queensland may sometimes be confused with the Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo, an inhabitant of northern tropical forests.