Himalayan Cuckoo

How to identify

Field marks

1. Adult male of the gray morph has dark gray upperparts
2. Male of the gray morph has white lower breast and belly with black barring
3. Male of the gray morph has blackish tail with white patches and a white tip
4. Eye-ring yellow

Male, female and young

The gray-morph female resembles the male but has a rufous wash on the breast; juveniles have a black throat with white barring.

Voice

The female gives a bubbling “quick-quick-quick”.

Similar species

Oriental Cuckoo

Oriental Cuckoo is almost identical in appearance; the different vocalizations are important for identification.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: April–May · Most records: China, Bhutan, Nepal

Himalayan Cuckoo has been recorded at 360 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 13 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

1. Mt. Phulchowki - Lowest Few Miles of RoadNepal202 records
2. Longcanggou [General Area]China162 records
3. Mt. PhulchowkiNepal115 records

Countries and regions with the most records

ChinaBhutanNepalThailandIndiaCambodiaSingaporeMalaysia

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 Himalayan cuckoo or Oriental cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus) is a brooding parasitic bird that is part of the Cuculidae family. The species breeds from the Himalayas eastward to southern China and Taiwan (China). It migrates to southeast Asia and the Greater Sunda Islands for the winter.

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

Questions