Female © Harshavardhan Jamakhandi
Male © Harish Thangaraj
Male © Krit Adirek
Male © Wolfe R
+ 2
Female © Fangqi Twang

Himalayan Cuckoo Cuculus saturatus

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Identification

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Visually indistinguishable from Oriental Cuckoo. Adult male is gray above with a black-and-white-barred belly and a dark gray tail; females usually look similar, but some (known as hepatic morph birds) have cinnamon-brown upperparts with black barring throughout. Intermediate in size between Common and Lesser Cuckoos; distinguished from both species by buffy (not white) under-tail feathers and from Lesser Cuckoos by yellow iris. Song is a series of five notes, with the leading note being sharper and more distinct than the four that follow; compare with Oriental Cuckoo’s series of mellow paired notes. Breeds in a wide range of different lowland and hill forests; also more open habitats outside of breeding season.

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