Himalayan cuckoo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Himalayan cuckoo |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| From Gnathang Valley East Sikkim, India | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Cuculus
|
| Species: |
saturatus
|
The Himalayan cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus), also known as the Oriental cuckoo, is a type of bird that lays its eggs in the nests of other birds. This means it's a brood parasite. It belongs to the cuckoo family, Cuculidae. These birds live in the Himalayas and stretch eastward to southern China and Taiwan. When winter comes, they fly to warmer places like Southeast Asia and the Greater Sunda Islands.
This bird used to be called the "Oriental cuckoo." Back then, it included several different types found all over Asia. But in 2005, scientists discovered that what they thought was one species was actually three different ones:
- Himalayan cuckoo, Cuculus (saturatus) saturatus
- Oriental cuckoo proper, Cuculus (saturatus) optatus
- Sunda cuckoo, Cuculus (saturatus) lepidus
Today, these three are usually seen as separate species. The name saturatus now refers specifically to the Himalayan cuckoo.
Contents
Understanding the Himalayan Cuckoo
How Scientists Group Cuckoos
New studies using DNA show that the Himalayan cuckoo is most closely related to the Common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). These two birds form a "sister group" with two other cuckoos: the African cuckoo (C.gularis) and the Madagascar cuckoo (C.rochii).
The Oriental cuckoo (C.optatus) is now considered a separate species. This is because its calls sound very different from the Himalayan cuckoo's. Even so, some people still debate if the differences are big enough to make them separate species. For a long time, the Himalayan cuckoo (C.saturatus) and the Sunda cuckoo (C.lepidus) were thought to be the same. But now, they are also recognized as two different species.
Himalayan Cuckoo vs. Other Cuckoos
The Himalayan cuckoo looks very much like the Oriental cuckoo (C.optatus). It is also often compared to the Common cuckoo (C.canorus). However, the Himalayan cuckoo has black bars on its wings that are wider and spaced further apart.
The Common cuckoo has brown and white bars under its wings. It also has a plain reddish-brown color. The Himalayan cuckoo, however, has no bars under its wings. It can also have a reddish-brown color with dark bars and dark feathers under its tail. Both the Himalayan and Common cuckoos have very different calls.
What Does the Himalayan Cuckoo Look Like?
Physical Appearance
Adult male Himalayan cuckoos are dark ash-grey on their backs. Their tails are brown, almost black, with white spots and tips. Their legs and feet can be yellow or orange. From their chin to their chest, they are ash-grey. Their lower chest and belly are white with black stripes. The area around their eyes is yellow, and their eyes themselves are yellow to brown. Some males have darker orange eyes. Their beaks are black with a yellow or green base. These birds are about 30–35 centimeters (12-14 inches) long and weigh 70–140 grams (2.5-5 ounces).
Female cuckoos look very similar to males. However, they might have a reddish-brown tint on their chest. Sometimes, their rump and upper tail feathers are also reddish-brown with dark bars. Some females have dark-barred reddish-brown upper parts, head, tail, and wings. The sides of their head to their chest are off-white with dark bars. The rest of their underside is white with black stripes.
Young cuckoos have brown eyes. Their backs are slate grey with white edges. Their undersides are barred with white and black. Their throats are black with white bars. Both male and female young cuckoos can have two different feather patterns: grey or reddish-brown. Their eyes change color as they grow, from creamy grey to blackish brown. Their beaks are duller in color.
What Sounds Do They Make?
Male cuckoos are often heard singing at dawn and dusk. They sing from high spots or while flying. Their call is a high note followed by three lower, flat notes. It sounds like “hoop, hoop-hoop” or “tun-tadun.” This is similar to a Common Hoopoe's call but is lower and more muffled. Males also make rough croaking sounds and chuckles. Sometimes, they make a harsh “gaak-gaak-gak-ak-ak-ak” sound.
Female cuckoos make a bubbling sound that goes “quick-quick-quick.”
Where Do Himalayan Cuckoos Live?
Their Home and Travels
The Himalayan cuckoo lives in northeast Pakistan and the northern Indian subcontinent. It also lives in southern China during warm weather. They have been seen in Thailand, Taiwan, Nepal, Assam, Kashmir, and Burma. In winter, they fly to Southeast Asia and northern Australia. This includes Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and New Guinea, from October to May. The Oriental cuckoo (C.optatus) looks almost exactly like the Himalayan cuckoo. Its winter home also overlaps with many of the same areas. This is why the two species are often confused.
During their breeding season, these cuckoos prefer the Oriental Region and the Himalayas. They are rarely found above 1,000 meters (3,300 feet). The best places for them to breed in summer are the Kashmir region from late April to August. In Nepal, they breed from March through September. When it's not breeding season, they can be found in Southeast Asia, the Greater Sundas, and the Philippines.
Where They Like to Live
These cuckoos usually live in mixed coniferous and deciduous forests. They also like thickets, birch trees, and mountain forests. They can be found in steppes with bushes and other wooded areas and orchards during spring and summer. They usually live above the tree-lines, from 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) to 3,300 meters (10,800 feet) in Kashmir, Myanmar, and Nepal. In southwest China, they can even be found up to 4,500 meters (14,800 feet).
In colder seasons, they live in primary and secondary tropical forests. They also live in savannas, gardens, and teak plantations. Sometimes, they are found in monsoon rainforests. More recently, they have been seen in swamps, mangroves, and plantations in Australia. They also live in lower elevation areas of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo, from 1,200 to 2,000 meters (3,900-6,600 feet).
How Himalayan Cuckoos Live
What Do They Eat?
The Himalayan cuckoo mainly eats insects. They especially like caterpillars, both the ones with hair and the ones without. They eat caterpillars from many different families. Before eating a caterpillar, the cuckoo removes its insides. Besides caterpillars, they also eat grasshoppers, large beetles, spiders, stick-insects, crickets, mantids, flies, and ants.
Sometimes, they also eat fruits, pine shoots, and needles. They have even been seen eating eggs and chicks from other birds' nests. For example, they eat eggs from the Asian stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps) and the Grey-cheeked fulvetta (Alcippe morrisonia).
These cuckoos usually look for food in trees. But they also search for food on forest floors and in open areas like grassy fields. They prefer to find food alone. They might even fly out quickly to catch prey in the air. However, small groups will form if there is a lot of food. They will stay until all the food is gone. Once, during a large outbreak of teak moths in New Guinea, at least 300 cuckoos gathered to eat them.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Like many other cuckoos, the Himalayan cuckoo is a brood parasite. This means the female lays her eggs in the nests of other bird species. She does this about fifteen times, laying one egg in a different nest each time. The host families are usually flycatchers, shrikes, or white-eyes. The unsuspecting host parents then incubate and care for the cuckoo eggs.
When the cuckoo chick hatches, it is fed insects and larvae along with the host's own chicks. Even though it looks very different, the host parents still feed it. Sometimes, if the young cuckoo chick hatches early, it will push out some or all of the other eggs and chicks from the nest. This way, it gets more food from the parents because there is no competition.
The cuckoo eggs can be different colors and sizes. They can be pale blue or white with small black, brown, or red spots. Their size ranges from 20-25 mm by 12-16 mm (about 0.8-1 inch by 0.5-0.6 inch). There isn't enough information to know exactly how long they take to hatch or when they leave the nest. When they are nestlings, they are born without feathers. Their skin can be pale or dark. They have an orange or red mouth and a yellow gape with four black triangle shapes.
Breeding happens during the nesting season of small warblers, which are often their hosts. This is usually from May to June in Kashmir. In Nepal, it's from March to August. In central Russia, it's June to July. In Japan, it's early May to late June, and in Fujian, it's May.
Here are some of the birds that host the Himalayan cuckoo's eggs:
- Small warblers of the genus Phylloscopus
- Western Crowned Leaf-warbler (P. occipitalis) in Kashmir
- Eastern Crowned Leaf-warbler (P.coronatus) in Russia
- Lanceolated Warbler (Locustella lanceolata)
- Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis)
- Black-throated Accentor (Prunella atrogularis)
- Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroeus) in Korea
- Japanese Paradise-flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata) in Korea
- Japanese Bush-warbler (Horornis diphone) in Japan
- Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps)
- Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina)
- Slaty-backed Forktail (Enricurus schistaceus) in China
- Collared Finchbill (Spizixos semitorques)
- Brownish-flanked Bush-Warbler (Horornis fortipes)
- Phylloscopus reguloides
- Yellow-throated Bunting (Emberiza elegans)
- Prinia flaviventris is the only known host in Taiwan
- A nest of Phylloscopus coronatus in China was recently found with two cuckoo eggs. It's not known if they were laid by the same female, as usually only one egg is laid per nest.
How Are Himalayan Cuckoos Doing?
The Himalayan cuckoo (C.saturatus) is considered a species of "least concern." This means it is not globally threatened. The number of these birds depends on how well their forest homes are kept. It is a very common local species and is spread out across the Himalayas. It is also common in the mountains of Borneo, just as much as the Sunda cuckoo (C.lepidus). There are an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 breeding pairs in Europe.
There isn't much other information about where they live. They are rare visitors to Malaysia's lowlands in winter. They are also thought to be birds that pass through Thailand, Indochina, the Philippines, and the Solomon Islands during migration.
