Himalayan Cuckoo
Cuculus saturatus
Adult male Himalayan cuckoos are dark ashy-grey above with a brown, almost black, tail that is whitely spotted and tipped. Legs and feet range between yellow and orange. The area from their chins to the breast is ash-grey, with their lower breast and abdomen being white with black bars, and a white to milky orange vent with varying bars. The eye-ring is yellow with yellow to brown irises—darker orange has been seen in males. Bills are black with an orange-yellow or green-yellow base. Their size approximately 30–35 cm and 70–140 g. Voice: Males are notably recorded more during dawn and dusk from high lookouts or in flight. Their call includes a high note followed by three lower flat notes, similar to "hoop, hoop-hoop" or "tun-tadun", much like that of a Common Hoopoe (Upupa epops) but lower-pitched and more muffled. The males also produce hoarse croaking sounds and chuckles, even a harsh "gaak-gaak-gak-ak-ak-ak" at times.
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Oriental Cuckoo
Cuculus optatus
It is 30–32 centimetres long with a wingspan of 51–57 centimetres and a weight of 73–156 grams. The adult male has a grey head, breast and upperparts. The belly is creamy-white with dark bars. The vent is frequently buff with few markings. The legs and feet are orange-yellow and there is a bare yellow ring around the eye. Adult females and juveniles occur in two morphs. The grey morph is similar to the male but has a brownish wash on the breast. The rufous morph is reddish-brown above, paler on the underparts and with strong dark bands all over including the rump. The common cuckoo (C.
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Where you might meet both
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Play today's Daily BirdPhotos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Himalayan Cuckoo and Oriental Cuckoo.