Scientific Name: Cuculus micropterus Common Name: Indian Cuckoo Other Name:
Identifying Features: grey upperparts, underside has broad dark and light lines, tail is barred, eye-ring is gray to yellow, female differs from the male in being slightly paler grey on the throat and in having more brown on the breast and tail.
Fun Facts:
- In the Kangra Valley of India, the call is interpreted as the soul of the dead shepherd uttering “where is my sheep”. In Uttarakhand and Nepal, it is rendered as “kafal pako”, or “the kafal fruit is ripe”, as is the case in May–June when calling increases.
- The Indian cuckoo is a brood parasite. It lays its single egg mostly in the nests of drongos and crows.
This image was clicked by Tanbeen Amin – via Flickr.
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