Chestnut-winged Cuckoo vs Jacobin Cuckoo

Chestnut-winged Cuckoo

Clamator coromandus

Medium75 gWoodland

This dark and crested cuckoo has chestnut wings, a glossy black crest and a graduated tail (the feathers shortening in steps from the center outwards) whose terminal edges are white and inconspicuous unlike the white tips of the Jacobin cuckoo which is found in parts of its range. The black capping on the head is broken from black of the back by a white collar that extends to the sides of the neck. The lower parts are rufous turning to dark grey towards the vent. Young birds are dusky with a scaly appearance to the wing feathers.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: sucker69420 · CC BY 4.0

Jacobin Cuckoo

Clamator jacobinus

Medium79 gGrassland

This medium-sized, slim black and white cuckoo with a crest is distinctive. The white wing patch on the black wing and the pattern make it unmistakable even in flight. They are very vocal during the breeding season. The call is a ringing series of whistling notes "piu-piu" with the calls of the nominate form more rapid and slightly Mellower. In India the subspecies serratus (Sparrman, 1786) is a summer breeding visitor to northern India and is believed to migrate to southern Africa.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Wynand Uys · CC BY 4.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Chestnut-winged Cuckoo and Jacobin Cuckoo.