Common Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius) | Photos, Calls and ID

LCLeast ConcernInvertebrates

WoodlandMedium · 103 g

Common Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius), photo 2 — Photo: (c) Paulmathi Vinod, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Common Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius), photo 3 — Photo: (c) Rejoice Gassah, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Common Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius), photo 4 — Photo: (c) Afsar Nayakkan, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Common Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius), photo 5 — Photo: (c) Anirban Datta-Roy, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Common Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius), photo 6 — Photo: (c) Mitul and Vijul Singh, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Common Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius), photo 7 — Photo: (c) Renjith Jacob Mathews, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Common Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius), photo 8 — Photo: (c) Teja Yantrapalli, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Common Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius), photo 9 — Photo: (c) sunnyjosef, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Common Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius), photo 10 — Photo: (c) Suhas Saya, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

What the Common Hawk-Cuckoo sounds like

Sonogram of the Common Hawk-Cuckoo: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.

Recorded by Jairam Vijayan · Song · Payyavoor, Kannur, Kerala, India · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The common hawk-cuckoo is a medium- to large-sized cuckoo, about the size of a pigeon (ca. 34 cm). The plumage is ashy grey above; whitish below, cross-barred with brown. The tail is broadly barred. The sexes are alike. They have a distinctive yellow eye ring. Subadults have the breast streaked, similar to the immature shikra, and there are large brown chevron marks on the belly. At first glance they can be mistaken for a hawk.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Common Hawk-Cuckoo

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is February, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Common Hawk-Cuckoo

Regular range

The map shades 7 countries with regular records. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

India Nepal Bangladesh Sri Lanka Pakistan Bhutan Myanmar (Burma)

About the Common Hawk-Cuckoo

The common hawk-cuckoo, popularly known as the brainfever bird, is a medium-sized cuckoo resident in the Indian subcontinent. It bears a close resemblance to the shikra, even in its style of flying and landing on a perch. The resemblance to hawks gives this group the generic name of hawk-cuckoo; like many other cuckoos, these are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of babblers. During their breeding season in summer males produce loud, repetitive three-note calls that are well-rendered as brain-fever, the second note being longer and higher pitched.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Hodgson's Hawk-CuckooHierococcyx nisicolorHodgson's hawk-cuckoo, also known as the whistling hawk-cuckoo is a species of cuckoo found in north-eastern India, Myanmar, southern China and southeast Asia.

Philippine Hawk-CuckooHierococcyx pectoralisThe Philippine hawk-cuckoo is a bird belonging to the cuckoo family.

Malaysian Hawk-CuckooHierococcyx fugaxThe Malaysian hawk-cuckoo or Malay hawk-cuckoo is a bird in the family Cuculidae formerly considered conspecific with Hodgson's hawk-cuckoo and the rufous hawk-cuckoo.

Side by side: Common Hawk-Cuckoo vs Guira Cuckoo

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