The Himalayan cuckoo or Oriental cuckoo is a brooding parasitic bird that is part of the Cuculidae family. The species breeds from the Himalayas eastward to southern China and Taiwan. It migrates to southeast Asia and the Greater Sunda Islands for the winter.
Region
Himalayas and East Asia
Typical Environment
Breeds along the Himalayan range east through southern China and Taiwan, favoring montane broadleaf and mixed forests, forest edges, and bamboo thickets. During the non-breeding season it moves to Southeast Asia and the Greater Sunda Islands, using lowland to foothill forests, secondary growth, and wooded parks. It keeps to canopy and mid-story layers and often remains inconspicuous despite its carrying voice.
Altitude Range
500–3800 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A brood parasite, the Himalayan cuckoo lays its eggs in the nests of small passerines, especially leaf-warblers, leaving the hosts to raise its chick. Its call is a distinctive series of hollow hoots that carries far through montane forests. It is notoriously difficult to separate from similar cuckoos by sight alone, so voice and range are important for identification.
Himalayan Cuckoo - Kaeng Krachen Nat'l Park - Thailand
Temperament
secretive and elusive
Flight Pattern
strong flier with rapid wingbeats and brief glides
Social Behavior
Typically solitary outside of breeding. Females surreptitiously lay eggs in host nests, often removing a host egg; the chick may outcompete or eject host young. Courtship is mostly vocal, and nesting structures are never built by the species itself.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
The male gives a resonant series of hollow hoots, often three to four notes, repeated at steady intervals. Calls are most frequent at dawn and dusk and help distinguish it from similar cuckoos.
Plumage
Sleek grey upperparts with finely barred white underparts, giving a hawk-like appearance in flight. Tail is long with pale tips and subtle barring; wings are pointed and fairly long.
Diet
Feeds primarily on insects, especially hairy caterpillars that many birds avoid, as well as beetles, moths, and their larvae. It occasionally takes other soft-bodied invertebrates. Prey is gleaned from foliage or taken by short sallies between branches.
Preferred Environment
Forages in the mid-canopy to upper canopy of montane and hill forests, along edges, and in well-wooded secondary growth. In winter, it also uses lower elevation woodlands and wooded parks.
