About the Indian Cuckoo
The Indian cuckoo or short-winged cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, that is found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It ranges from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia and north to China and Russia. It is a solitary and shy bird, found in forests and open woodland at up to 3,600 m (11,800 ft).
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
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.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
What the Indian Cuckoo sounds like
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Mongolia.
When to see it
Peak activity in May · a summer visitor species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Black CuckooCuculus clamosusThe black cuckoo is a medium-sized cuckoo.
Oriental CuckooCuculus optatusIt is 30–32 centimetres long with a wingspan of 51–57 centimetres and a weight of 73–156 grams.
Himalayan CuckooCuculus saturatusAdult male Himalayan cuckoos are dark ashy-grey above with a brown, almost black, tail that is whitely spotted and tipped.
Learn the Indian Cuckoo for real
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