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-eared Bulbul
Pycnonotus penicillatus
Medium-sized, plump green bulbul with a yellow belly and distinctive head pattern with yellow tufts behind each eye, white tufts above each eye, and white horns sticking up from the base of the bill. Found in small parties in the canopy of hill forests and adjacent woods and gardens. Conspicuous head pattern of Yellow-eared Bulbul differentiates it from Black-headed Bulbul, which has an unmarked, dark head. Frequently given call is a harsh trill. Song involves a series of high “whit”, whip-like notes.
Yucatan Jay
Cyanocorax yucatanicus
Common and conspicuous in woodland and forest edge of Yucatan Peninsula, where there are no similar species. Usually found in groups of 5-25 birds, often chattering noisily. Black and bright blue plumage is distinctive. The bill is black on adult birds, yellow on juveniles and 1st-year birds. The striking white bodied juvenile plumage is held for only a few weeks in late summer before being replaced by adult-like black feathering.
Purple-backed Sunbeam
Aglaeactis aliciae
Blotchy hummingbird restricted to a tiny, remote area in the Andes of northern Peru. Plumage is bronzy-brown with irregular white patches on the face, throat, and belly, and white teardrop-shaped spots on breast. Adult male has an iridescent purple and green lower back, but this is indistinct or lacking on females and younger birds.
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