Common Hawk-cuckoo

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Common Hawk-Cuckoo

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Cuculiformes
Family:	Cuculidae
Genus:	Cuculus
Species:	C. varius

Binomial name

Cuculus varius
(Vahl, 1797)

Synonyms

Hierococcyx varius

Resemblance to the Shikra

The Common Hawk-cuckoo Cuculus varius also popularly called the Brainfever bird is a medium sized cuckoo resident in South Asia. It is called a Hawk-cuckoo because of its resemblance to the Shikra hawk. It is a brood parasite, laying its eggs in foster nests.

1 Distribution
2 Description
3 Nesting
4 References
5 Gallery

[edit] Distribution

From Punjab, Pakistan east across most of the Indian peninsula from about 800m in the Himalayas south; Bangladesh; Sri Lanka. Resident and locally migratory.

Habitat: Found in dry deciduous forests. mostly singly.

Local Names: Kapak, Upak, Papiya (Hindi); Bharao (Mirshikars, Bihar); Chokgallo (Bengal); Kutti pitta (Telugu); Zokkhat (Deccan); Bappaiyo (Gujarati); Shikra kuyil (Malayalam); Ukusu Koha (Sinhala).

[edit] Description

Adult at Narendrapur near Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

Size: about Pigeon (ca. 34cm). Slenderer than pigeon, with longer tail
Appearance: Ashy grey above; whitish below, cross-barred with brown. Broadly barred tail. Sexes alike. When flying into trees, they resemble sparrowhawks (Shikra and upon landing on the perch they shake their tails from side to side.

During summer months, the call is easily detected by its repeated calls : a loud, screaming dee dee dit, repeated with monotonous persistency 5 or 6 times, rising in crescendo and ending abruptly^[2]. This in its various interpretations provides alternative names: brain-fever (English) or pee kahan (Hindi, "where's my love") or chokh gelo (Bengali, "my eyes are gone") and paos ala (Marathi, "the rains are coming"). Heard all through the day and frequently during moonlit nights. Common Hawk-cuckoos feed on hairy caterpillars and other insects, berries and wild figs, etc.

[edit] Nesting

Like other cuckoos, this species is a brood parasite, preferring babblers^[3]. It's breeding season is March to June, coinciding with that of Turdoides babblers. A single egg is laid in each nest, blue, like that of the host. Hatchling reared to maturity by foster parents.

[edit] References

^ BirdLife International (2004). Cuculus varius. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
^ Ali, Salim; J C Daniel (1983). The book of Indian Birds, Twelfth Centenary edition. Bombay Natural History Society/Oxford University Press.
^ Grewal, Bikram; Bill Harvey and Otto Pfister (2002). Photographic guide to birds of India. Periplus editions / Princeton University Press. p. 101

[edit] Gallery

Adult at Narendrapur near Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Adult at Narendrapur near Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Adult at Narendrapur near Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Adult at Narendrapur near Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Adult at Narendrapur near Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Adult at Narenderpur near Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Adult at Narenderpur near Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Immature at Bracebridge in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Adult at Narenderpur near Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Adult at Narenderpur near Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Immature at Narenderpur near Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Immature at Narenderpur near Kolkata, West Bengal, India.