Cuckoos

Status

Resident

Range

Scattered across drier parts of peninsular and north-western India

Habitat

Scrub, dry thorn forest and semi-arid country, typically on or near the ground

IUCN

Least Concern

The plainest of the Indian malkohas — sandy brown-grey overall with no bare facial skin, which separates it at a glance from Blue-faced and Green-billed. The mark to look for is the thick, deeply curved bill, red at the base and yellow-tipped. It is a ground-loving bird, running through scrub more than perching in the open, with a long tail broadly tipped white.

FM0015←→

Mar 2018Ananthagiri Hills, Vikarabad, TelanganaOn a bare branch against open sky, red-based yellow-tipped bill.

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Status

Resident

Range

Peninsular India, absent from the north and the north-east

Habitat

Scrub, open woodland, gardens and thorn forest

IUCN

Least Concern

A glossy blue-black malkoha with bare turquoise skin around the eye and an olive-green bill — a striking combination at close range, though the bird is more often glimpsed slipping through cover than sitting in the open. Plumage condition changes the impression a lot: fresh and dry, the bird reads dark and vivid; damp or worn, as after rain, it can look distinctly duller and buffier with the facial skin reduced to a thin crescent, which is worth knowing before assuming a washed-out bird is a different species.

FM0017←→

Mar 2018Ananthagiri Hills, Vikarabad, TelanganaHead close, vivid blue orbital skin and olive-green bill.

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Status

Resident

Range

The Himalayan foothills and north-east India, extending down through parts of the eastern peninsula

Habitat

Dense forest edge, secondary growth and tall scrub, usually in the understorey

IUCN

Least Concern

A large malkoha with a grey head, bare crimson skin around the eye, a pale green bill, and glossy dark green wings against an otherwise sooty body. The tail is long and graduated, tipped white beneath, and the bird moves through cover with a slow, deliberate clamber rather than active flight.

FM0019

Jan 2018Kavadigundla Forest Range, Bhadradri Kothagudem, TelanganaPerched in flowering foliage, red orbital skin and pale green bill.

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Status

Resident

Range

Throughout the subcontinent, including well inside cities

Habitat

Wooded gardens, orchards, avenue trees and open forest — anywhere with fruiting trees and crows

IUCN

Least Concern

The sexes look nothing alike. The male is glossy blue-black with a pale green bill and a hard red eye; the female, photographed here, is dark brown spotted and barred with white, with the same red eye. Unusually for a cuckoo it eats mostly fruit. It is a brood parasite of crows, which is why the two are so often seen chasing each other across a garden.

FM0020←→

Feb 2015Osman Sagar, Hyderabad, TelanganaFemale on an acacia, spotted above and barred below.

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Status

Resident in the south, a breeding visitor further north through the monsoon months

Range

Widespread across the subcontinent, commonest in the peninsula

Habitat

Open woodland, scrub, thorn forest, gardens and cultivation edges

IUCN

Least Concern

A small grey cuckoo with a slate head and breast running into a whitish belly, a crimson orbital ring, and a black tail boldly barred and tipped white — that tail is the mark that carries at distance, since it hangs long and clear below the perch. The confusion species is Plaintive Cuckoo, which shares the grey head and breast but washes rufous-orange below rather than whitish. Young birds are browner-winged with a plain brown iris and lack the crimson ring, which makes them harder work than the adults.

FM0024←→

Mar 2017Narsingi, Hyderabad, TelanganaUpright on a thorny acacia, undertail hanging clear.

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