Birds and Birding's Guide to:

Watching THE CUCKOO-LIKE BIRDS

THE CUCKOOS

Hawk-Cuckoos

Differing structurally from the last genus in having relatively shorter wings are the Hawk-Cuckoos (Hierococcyx), which are remarkable for the close resemblance in flight and plumage to the Sparrow-Hawk, the likeness being so close as to cause the greatest alarm among all small birds when one appears. Even the plumage of the young birds resembles that of several immature birds of prey. The coloration is grayish above and more or less brownish or rufous below, with the tail strongly black-banded and the large eyes yellow.

There are seven species of Hawk-Cuckoos which range from eastern Siberia to India and the Malay Peninsula and islands, four species being found in India proper, the best-known being the common Hawk-Cuckoo (H. varius). This is a resident bird wherever found, except perhaps in Ceylon, and frequents well-wooded country, feeding largely on caterpillars, but also, it is said, on fruits and buds.

The nesting season extends from April to June, and the eggs, which are blue in color, are deposited chiefly in the nests of Babblers. Its”loud crescendo notes,”as Jerdon terms its calls, are frequently heard both by night and day, at least during the nesting season.

The largest of the group is the Great Hawk-Cuckoo (H. sparverioides), a bird some fifteen and a half inches in length, though the females are somewhat smaller. Its habits and notes are similar to those of the last species, except that it appears occasionally to build a slight unlined nest of sticks and to lay three or four whitish, slightly speckled eggs; it is mainly parasitic, however.

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