Lesser cuckoo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lesser cuckoo |
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| Conservation status | |
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| Genus: |
Cuculus
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| Species: |
poliocephalus
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The lesser cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus) is a type of cuckoo bird. It belongs to the Cuculidae family, which includes all cuckoos.
You can find this bird in many countries across Asia and Africa. These include Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. In Africa, it lives in places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The Lesser Cuckoo in Culture
The lesser cuckoo is quite famous in some cultures, especially in Japan.
Japanese Culture
In Japan, the bird is known as hototogisu (ホトトギス/杜鵑). People often admire its song and mention it in poems.
Many famous waka poets have written about this bird. This tradition goes back to the Kokin wakashū poetry collection from 920 AD.
A famous writer named Sei Shōnagon wrote about the lesser cuckoo in her book, The Pillow Book (1002 AD). She described how she and other people from the royal court would go on trips just to hear this bird sing. It was expected that they would then write poems about the experience. The lesser cuckoo is also the main image in poem 81 by Tokudaiji Sanesada. This poem is part of the well-known Hyakunin Isshu collection of 100 poems.
The Japanese haiku magazine Hototogisu is named after this bird. Even the famous poet Masaoka Shiki chose his pen name, Shiki (子規), because it also refers to the lesser cuckoo. In Chinese, shiki (子規) is another name for the bird, similar to its standard name dùjuān (杜鵑).
Other Cultures
In China, the general name for cuckoos is dùjuān. The lesser cuckoo specifically is called xiāodùjuān (小杜鵑).
In Korean stories and poems, the song of the lesser cuckoo often represents feelings of sadness.
Images for kids
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A lesser cuckoo perched on a branch.
