*** VIEW IN FULL SCREEN FOR BETTER VISIBILITY***
PAKHI DEKHUN PAKHI CHINUN # 526/548(Observe the Bird and recognize)..JACOBIN CUCKOO ... COL. GELPENS... 4*9 INCH...2015... [FROM PHOTOGRPAH OF MR. SUBRATA MUKHERJEE] ... The Jacobin cuckoo, pied cuckoo, or pied crested cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus) is a member of the cuckoo order of birds that is found in Africa and Asia. It is partially migratory and in India, it has been considered a harbinger of the monsoon rains due to the timing of its arrival. It has been associated with a bird in Indian mythology and poetry, known as the Chatak (Sanskrit: चातक) represented as a bird with a beak on its head that waits for rains to quench its thirst.
This medium-sized, slim black and white cuckoo with a crest is distinctive. The white wing patch on the black wing and the pattern make it unmistakable even in flight. They are very vocal during the breeding season. The call is a ringing series of whistling notes "piu-piu" with the calls of the nominate form more rapid and slightly mellower.
The species is a brood parasite and in India the host is mainly species of babblers in the genus Turdoides. The colour of the eggs matches those of the host, typically turquoise blue. The eggs are slightly larger than those of the Common Babbler T. caudatus or the jungle babbler T. striata. Other hosts include the red-vented bulbul, and the eggs laid are then mostly white. Eggs are laid hurriedly in the morning into the nest of the host often dropped from while the bird perches on the rim of the nest and over the host eggs often resulting in the cracking of one or more host eggs.
This species is widely mentioned in ancient Indian poetry as the chātak.According to Indian mythology it has a beak atop its head and it thirsts for the rains.[INFO:WIKIPEDIA]
