The Indian cuckoo or short-winged cuckoo (Cuculus micropterus) 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 .

Description

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. The female differs from the male in being slightly paler grey on the throat and in having more brown on the breast and tail. The barring on the belly is narrower than in the male. Nestlings have an orange-red mouth and yellow flanges to the gape.

The call is loud with four notes. They have been transcribed as "orange-pekoe", "bo-ko-ta-ko", "crossword puzzle" or "one more bottle". In northern India, they can be locally common during the breeding season with densities estimated at a calling bird for every .

Taxonomy and systematics

Two subspecies are generally recognized. The nominate form is found in much of continental Asia, while concretus S. Müller, 1845 which is smaller and darker is known from the Malay Peninsula, Java, Sumatra and Borneo. The birds in the Amur region are larger and Swinhoe described a form from northern China as Cuculus michieanus while Walter Norman Koelz described a form fatidicus from northeastern India. with specimens netted at night or recorded at lighthouses.

Behaviour and ecology

thumb|Indian Cuckoo from Barpeta, Assam|alt=|leftThe Indian cuckoo is a brood parasite. In Russia, females were found to pair with specific males during the breeding season. The male diverts the attention of hosts from their nest giving time for the female to lay her egg. streaked spiderhunter, Eurylaimus ochromalus and Dicrurus paradiseus. In China, the call is variously interpreted as "why not go home" (不如歸去), "single lonely" (光棍好苦), "single happy" (光棍好過), "mother-in-law beats me" (家婆打我), "catfish congee" (滑哥煲粥), "myna of pea" (豌豆八哥), "pea and maize corn" (豌豆包谷), "go to cut wheat" (快快割麥), "Grandpa, Grandma, cut wheat, transplant rice" (阿公阿婆，割麦插禾). The Soliga people use the interpretation "ke:ta satto, makka ketto " which translate to "Ketha (a person's name) died, his sons cried". In Vietnamese, the call is interpreted as "bắt cô trói cột" (literally meaning: "take a woman and tie her to a post") stemming from a legend possibly originating from the Mảng ethnic group.

References

Other sources

  • Sankar, K (1993) The Indian Cuckoo (Cuculus micropterus micropterus Gould) in Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 90(3):512.
  • Hewetson, C. E. (1956) Observations on the bird life of Madhya Pradesh. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 53(4):627.
  • The Internet Bird Collection
  • Images at ADW