• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Where premium quality meets exceptional value. ZEISS Conquest HDX.

Common Hawk-Cuckoo - BirdForum Opus

Nominate subspecies
Photo by Alok Tewari
Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India, 27 June 2013
Hierococcyx varius

Cuculus varius

Identification

33cm (13 in)
Ashy grey above, grey chin, pale rufus brown breast and grey-and-rufous barring on belly. The tail is banded with clear whitish bars. Ciceliae in Sri Lanka is much darker, has broader dark tail bands and is much more heavily barred.

Similar Species

Differs from very similar Large Hawk Cuckoo in smaller size, less barring and voice (less shrill in Large Hawk Cuckoo). Both species are also know as Brainfever Bird.

Distribution

Found in most parts of India (except for the northwest and far northeast), Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and in Sri Lanka. Recently found in Pakistan (Punjab).

Most birds don't migrate, but altitudinal movements known. Records in Oman and Thailand suggest some movement, possibly related to the weather.

Taxonomy

Subspecies ciceliae
Photo by juninho
Perideniya Botanical Gardens, Sri Lanka, 4 December 2005

Subspecies

Two subspecies recognized[1]:

Some authorities place this species in genus Cuculus.

Habitat

Common in wooded country, plantations and gardens. Usually found below 1000m, occasionally up to 1500m. In Sri Lanka between 600 and 2200m.

Behaviour

Often hard to see but very easy to hear.

Breeding

Breeds from March to July (earlier in Sri Lanka). Like many cuckoos brood-parasitic. Hosts Laughingthrushes and Babblers, e.g. Jungle Babbler. The young throws the host's chick out of the nest.

Diet

Nominate subspecies, dorsal plumage
Photo by Alok Tewari
Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India, 23 June 2017

Feeds on insects, mainly caterpillars but also cutworms, grasshoppers, locusts and others. Takes fruits of banyan and wild bananas.

Vocalisation

Song is a series of shrill and loud whistles, rising gradually and getting increasingly hysterical near end. In breeding season sings through day and night much to the dislike of local people.

Recording by Alok Tewari
Dist. Jhajjar, Haryana, India, Aug-2015
Single bird calling, after eating a hairy caterpillar, minutes after Sunset, on a road traversing through open countryside and agrarian wilderness.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliot, and J Sargatal, eds. 1997. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 4: Sandgrouse to Cuckoos. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334221

Recommended Citation

External Links


GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

Back
Top