Bird Guide

Black Cuckoo vs Indian Cuckoo

Black Cuckoo (Cuculus clamosus)

Black Cuckoo

Cuculus clamosus

Medium79 gForest

The black cuckoo is a medium-sized cuckoo. The sexes are similar, the plumage varying by subspecies; Cuculus clamosus clamosus has upper parts black glossed with green, slatey-grey wings and black tail tipped with white and sometimes with the outer feathers barred or spotted with white or buff; Cuculus clamosus gabonensis is mostly black with a red throat and black and white barring on the belly.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: le0p0ld_d · CC BY 4.0
Indian Cuckoo (Cuculus micropterus)

Indian Cuckoo

Cuculus micropterus

Medium89 gForest

This is a medium-sized cuckoo with both sexes alike. It has grey upperparts while the underside has broad black barring. The tail is barred with a broad subterminal dark band and a white tip. Young birds have white markings on the crown and white chin and throat contrasting with a dark face. Juveniles are browner and have broad white tips to the head and wing feathers. The eye-ring is gray to yellow (a feature shared with the common hawk-cuckoo). The iris is light brown to reddish.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Indian Cuckoo
Recorded by Jairam Vijayan · Uncertain · Payyavoor, Kannur, Kerala, India · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Sandeep Gangadharan · CC BY 2.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Black Cuckoo and Indian Cuckoo.