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ForestMedium · 99 g
ID tip
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.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Oriental Cuckoo
One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 4 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Oriental Cuckoo
The map shades 19 countries with regular records, and 6 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
Recorded as a rare visitor in United States, New Zealand, Finland, Northern Mariana Islands, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan.
About the Oriental Cuckoo
The Oriental cuckoo or Horsfield's cuckoo is a bird belonging to the genus Cuculus in the cuckoo family Cuculidae. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the Himalayan cuckoo, with the name 'Oriental cuckoo' used for the combined species. Differences in voice and size suggest that it should be treated as a separate species. The binomial name Cuculus horsfieldi has often been used instead of Cuculus optatus, but is now usually considered to be a junior synonym.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Himalayan CuckooCuculus saturatusAdult male Himalayan cuckoos are dark ashy-grey above with a brown, almost black, tail that is whitely spotted and tipped.
Lesser CuckooCuculus poliocephalusThe lesser cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae.
African CuckooCuculus gularisThis is a medium-sized species with a long tail, with a total length of 32 cm (13 in).
Side by side: Oriental Cuckoo vs Red-chested Cuckoo · Indian Cuckoo vs Oriental Cuckoo · Black Cuckoo vs Oriental Cuckoo · Lesser Ground Cuckoo vs Oriental Cuckoo · Himalayan Cuckoo vs Oriental Cuckoo · African Cuckoo vs Oriental Cuckoo
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