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Indian Cuckoo - BirdForum Opus

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Photo by the late Laurence Poh
Trong, Perak, Malaysia, November 2003
Cuculus micropterus

Identification

33 cm length

  • Grey-brown
  • Pale grey throat and upper breast
  • White underparts with dark barring
  • Tail is edged with prominent white spots

Sexes are similar; juveniles are browner and have broad white tips to the head and wing feathers.

Similar Species

Differentiated from Himalayan Cuckoo by browner upper body with greyer head, broader ventral barring and the black sub-terminal band on rectrices.

Distribution

Asia: Including India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are two subspecies[1]:

  • C. m. micropterus:
  • C. m. concretus:

Two additional subspecies, ognevi and fatidicus are generally considered invalid[2]

Habitat

Forests and open woodland.

Behaviour

Breeding

A brood parasite, laying a single egg mostly in the nests of drongos and crows.

Diet

Diet includes insects and caterpillars.

Vocalisation

Recording by china guy, Sichuan, May 2011

External Links

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

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