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The Himalayan cuckoo or Oriental cuckoo is a brooding parasitic bird that is part of the Cuculidae family. The species breeds from the Himalayas eastward to southern China and Taiwan. It migrates to southeast Asia and the Greater Sunda Islands for the winter.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
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.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Philippines, Indonesia.
When to see it
Peak activity in April · a passage migrant species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Oriental CuckooCuculus optatusIt is 30–32 centimetres long with a wingspan of 51–57 centimetres and a weight of 73–156 grams.
African CuckooCuculus gularisThis is a medium-sized species with a long tail, with a total length of 32 cm (13 in).
Learn the Himalayan Cuckoo for real
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