Plaintive Cuckoo vs small tortoiseshell

Cacomantis merulinus compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Plaintive Cuckoo is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Plaintive Cuckoo	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Cuculiformes (Cuculiformes)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Cuculidae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Cacomantis	Aglais
Species	Cacomantis merulinus	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

Plaintive Cuckoo and small tortoiseshell share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Plaintive Cuckoo

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Plaintive Cuckoo	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Plaintive Cuckoo

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Found in Norway.

small tortoiseshell

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (41 countries). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

small tortoiseshell

small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway