White-headed Vanga

A large, long-tailed cuckoo with chocolate-brown upperparts and tail, a contrasting pale gray head, and thickly barred underparts. Juvenile has a black head and whitish underside. A seldom-seen bird of forested lowlands and mountains, most abundant in the foothills. Distinguished from most other cuckoos by the heavy barring below and the brown back. Separated from Large Hawk-Cuckuoo by smaller size, absence of throat streaking, and lack of any rufous throat coloration. Distinctive call, often given before dawn, is rapid, three-note “kaka-koo.”

Visually indistinguishable from Oriental Cuckoo. Adult male is gray above with a black-and-white-barred belly and a dark gray tail; females usually look similar, but some (known as hepatic morph birds) have cinnamon-brown upperparts with black barring throughout. Intermediate in size between Common and Lesser Cuckoos; distinguished from both species by buffy (not white) under-tail feathers and from Lesser Cuckoos by yellow iris. Song is a series of five notes, with the leading note being sharper and more distinct than the four that follow; compare with Oriental Cuckoo’s series of mellow paired notes. Breeds in a wide range of different lowland and hill forests; also more open habitats outside of breeding season.

Distinctive medium-sized rainforest bird, easily recognized by large, mostly bright cinnamon head and orange bill, whitish underparts, and clean black band completely encircling nape and breast. Inhabits lower and middle levels of tall rainforest, sometimes up to the canopy, where it sits motionless before making sudden flights to bark, foliage, or ground for large insects and small vertebrates. Encountered singly or in pairs, but rather seldom seen due to lethargic behavior. Typically silent during the day; song—given well before first light—is a wild-sounding series of quavering notes that is unlike that of any other bird.