Grey-bellied Cuckoo (Cacomantis passerinus)
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Grey-bellied Cuckoo

Cacomantis passerinus (Vahl, 1797)

23 cmLength25 gWeight

The grey-bellied cuckoo or the Indian plaintive cuckoo (Cacomantis passerinus) is a cuckoo with widespread occurrence throughout Asia.

Busiest months: January–March and June · Most records: India, Sri Lanka, Nepal

Least Concern

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: January–March and June · Most records: India, Sri Lanka, Nepal

Grey-bellied Cuckoo has been recorded at 257 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 6 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Valley SchoolIndia515 records
  2. Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural HistoryIndia359 records
  3. Yala National ParkSri Lanka358 records
More places
  1. KattampallyIndia344 records
  2. Hoskote / Hosakote KereIndia339 records
  3. Byatarayana Doddi KereIndia338 records
  4. Uda Walawe NPSri Lanka330 records
  5. Hessaraghatta KereIndia324 records
  6. Muthanallur KereIndia319 records
  7. Manjeera Wildlife SanctuaryIndia304 records

Countries and regions with the most records

IndiaSri LankaNepalPakistanBhutanBangladesh

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The grey-bellied cuckoo or the Indian plaintive cuckoo (Cacomantis passerinus) is a cuckoo with widespread occurrence throughout Asia.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Grey-bellied Cuckoo?

The Grey-bellied Cuckoo is about 23 cm long and weighs around 25 g.

Where does the Grey-bellied Cuckoo live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: India. It is most often recorded in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

When is the best time to see the Grey-bellied Cuckoo?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in January, February, March and June (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Grey-bellied Cuckoo endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Grey-bellied Cuckoo as Least Concern.

What does the Grey-bellied Cuckoo eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the Grey-bellied Cuckoo in?

It belongs to the family Cuckoos (Cuculidae), order Cuculiformes.

At a glance

Length
23 cm
Weight
25 g
Habitat
Woodland
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Perches in trees
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
113 mm
Tail
103 mm
Bill
21 mm
Tarsus
17 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Oriental: India

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Family
Cuckoos Cuculidae
Genus
Cacomantis

Other birds in the genus Cacomantis

Chestnut-breasted CuckooChestnut-breasted CuckooCacomantis castaneiventrisFan-tailed CuckooFan-tailed CuckooCacomantis flabelliformisBanded Bay CuckooBanded Bay CuckooCacomantis sonneratiiPlaintive CuckooPlaintive CuckooCacomantis merulinusSunda Brush CuckooSunda Brush CuckooCacomantis sepulcralisSulawesi Brush CuckooSulawesi Brush CuckooCacomantis virescensSahul Brush CuckooSahul Brush CuckooCacomantis variolosusManus Brush CuckooManus Brush CuckooCacomantis blandusSolomons Brush CuckooSolomons Brush CuckooCacomantis addendusMoluccan Brush CuckooMoluccan Brush CuckooCacomantis aeruginosus
Grey-bellied Cuckoo

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by A Emmerson. ↗

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