Plaintive Cuckoo
Cacomantis merulinus
A small and slender cuckoo, far more often heard than seen; the male's accelerating song, which decreases in volume as it progresses, is composed of a few whistled long notes followed by shorter, breathy notes. Adult male and typical (non-hepatic) female show orange belly, gray head, and brown back and tail. Hepatic, or rufous-morph, individuals are rusty brown above and white below, with black barring all over the body. Inhabits open woodlands, edges, and agricultural areas.
识别特征
The plaintive cuckoo is fairly small, measuring about 21–24 cm (8.3–9.4 in) long. The adult male is grey-brown above and orange below with a grey head, throat and upper breast. The tail feathers have white tips. The legs and feet are yellow, the eye is red and the bill is black above and yellow below. The adult female is sometimes similar to the male but often occurs in a "hepatic" morph. This form is reddish-brown above with dark bars. The underparts are paler with fainter barring. There is a pale stripe over the eye and the tail has dark bars along its whole length. Juvenile birds are similar to hepatic females but are paler and have dark streaks rather than bars on the crown and throat.<p>The male has several plaintive whistling calls. These include an ascending series of three-note phrases and a series of 11 or 12 descending notes.
分类信息
- 学名
- Cacomantis merulinus
- 命名信息
- (Scopoli, 1786)
- 目
- Cuculiformes
- 科
- Cuculidae
- 属
- Cacomantis
分布与栖息地
There are four subspecies. The nominate form C. m. merulinus is found in the Philippines where it is common on many of the larger islands. C. m. querulus is the most widespread form, occurring in north-east India, Bangladesh, southern China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. It is a summer visitor to most of its Chinese range, migrating south for the winter. C. m. threnodes is found in the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo while C. m. lanceolatus occurs in Java, Bali and Sulawesi.<p>The grey-bellied cuckoo (C. passerinus) was formerly classified as a subspecies of the plaintive cuckoo but is now often treated as a separate species.
- 迁徙
- Complete migrants
行为
The plaintive cuckoo inhabits forest edge, open woodland, scrub, grassland, farmland, parks and gardens. It feeds on invertebrates. It is normally solitary and is often difficult to see.<p>It is a brood parasite, laying its eggs in the nests of cisticolas, prinias and tailorbirds. The eggs are similar to those of the host species but are larger. Small birds often mob the cuckoo to drive it away from their nests.
保护状况
- 种群趋势
- stable
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Bay-capped Wren-Spinetail
Spartonoica maluroides
Small, with a long spiky tail. Has a brown-streaked black back contrasting with a cinnamon crown and pale underparts. Note the pale eyebrow. Found in well-vegetated marshes and wet areas with tall grass. The song is an insect-like buzzy trill.
Pale-eyed Blackbird
Agelasticus xanthophthalmus
Medium-sized blackbird found locally in habitats with wet grass. Shiny black, with a white or light yellow eye and sharply pointed black bill. Giant Cowbird occasionally has a pale eye and may appear similar, but is much larger than Pale-eyed Blackbird; told apart from the similar Velvet-fronted Grackle by its pale eyes, longer, more pointed bill, and shorter tail. Found in wet grasslands and grassy margins of oxbow lakes, where it forages singly, in pairs, or in small groups.
White-naped Monarch
Carterornis pileatus
An unmistakable black-and-white songbird with a distinctive face pattern. Note the black head with white markings, the black wings with a broad white wing panel, and the white underparts. Juveniles browner on upperparts, head, and throat. Singles and pairs inhabit the upper levels of forest in the lowlands and lower hills, regularly following mixed-species flocks. Distinct within restricted range in north Moluccas. Regular vocalizations include a ringing “weee-weee-weee-weee,” a more agitated “tzit-tzit-witcheu-witcheu,” single harsh, rasping “tzit” notes, and single slurred “tcheu” notes.
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