Lesser Cuckoo
Cuculus poliocephalus
Like many other cuckoos, this species is most often detected by its song, a short phrase of jumbled notes, often likened to “eat-your-choKY-pepper!”, with the latter half being significantly louder than the former half. Most adults are gray with black-barred white underparts and dark eyes. Some females are bright rufous above with dark bars across the wings and back. Juvenile is brownish above and often has faint white edging to the wing feathers. Averages smaller but also more compact and stumpy in shape than other similar cuckoos. Sings and forages in the canopy of lowland and foothill forests.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Cuculus poliocephalus
- Authority
- Latham, 1790
- Order
- Cuculiformes
- Family
- Cuculidae
- Genus
- Cuculus
Range and habitat
- Breeding range
- PAL, OR : se Siberia and Japan to s China, n se Asia and the Himalayas
- Non-breeding range
- India and e AF
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Yellow-headed Manakin
Chloropipo flavicapilla
Rare and local in cloud forest from around 1,200-2,400m. Unique: mostly olive with contrasting yellow crown and dull reddish eye. Paler yellowish belly. Like most manakins, quite plump with a short bill. Female similar to male but slightly duller. Found in the understory of forest, where it is rather quiet and unobtrusive. Occasionally follows mixed-species flocks.
Senegal Thick-knee
Burhinus senegalensis
Very large shorebird that is similar to Eurasian and Water Thick-knees, but with a longer and heavier bill. Also note the gray mid-wing panel without a black-and-white upper border. Immature Eurasian Thick-knees can also have a simpler wing pattern similar to Senegal, and identification of those birds best determined by structure and habitat. More connected to aquatic habitats than Eurasian Thick-knee, but not as much as Water Thick-Knee. Noisy, especially at night, producing a variety of loud whistles and trills.
Juba Weaver
Ploceus dichrocephalus
A fairly small, compact weaver with a large bill. Breeding males are colorful, with a black head, a red eye, a rufous chest, and a yellow belly and back. Females and non-breeding males are dull olive-gray with pale buffy underparts and a pale patch at the base of the otherwise black bill. Found very locally in riverside thickets in dry country, often in small flocks. Similar to Black-headed and Golden-backed Weavers, but separated by range. Females and non-breeding males can be cautiously identified by the pale patch on the bill and by the overall size and shape. Vocalizations are typical of weavers: “chik” notes and a scratchy “radio static” song.
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