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Indian cuckoo Pair, Cuculus micropterus Pair

Code: Cuckoos World
Skills: Birds Life India

Project Description

The Indian cuckoo (Cuculus micropterus) is a fascinating bird found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Let’s explore some intriguing details about this avian species:

Description:
- The Indian cuckoo is a medium-sized cuckoo with both sexes appearing alike.
- Its upperparts are gray, while the underside displays broad black barring.
- The tail features a broad subterminal dark band and a white tip.
- Young birds exhibit white markings on the crown and a white chin and throat contrasting with a dark face.
- The eye-ring varies from gray to yellow, a feature shared with the common hawk-cuckoo.
- Females are slightly paler gray on the throat and have more brown on the breast and tail.
- Nestlings have an orange-red mouth and yellow flanges to the gape.
Call:
- The Indian cuckoo’s call is loud and distinctive, with four notes.
- It has 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 2 km².
- Their diet includes hairy caterpillars and other insects, occasionally supplemented with fruits.
- They forage in the upper canopy, gleaning insects, and sometimes making aerial sallies for flying termites or hovering lower near the ground.
Distribution and Habitat:
- The Indian cuckoo is widely distributed across Asia, ranging from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka eastward to Indonesia and northward to China and Russia.
- It is a solitary and shy bird, found in forests and open woodland at elevations of up to 3,600 meters (11,800 feet).
- Their preferred habitat includes deciduous and evergreen forests, but they can also occur in garden lands and thick scrub.