Grey-bellied cuckoo

Grey-bellied cuckoo
	Male from Kerala, India
	Female at Kakani Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, Nepal.; Calls
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Cuculiformes
Family:	Cuculidae
Genus:	Cacomantis
Species:	C. passerinus
Binomial name
	Cacomantis passerinus; (Vahl, 1797)

The grey-bellied cuckoo or the Indian plaintive cuckoo (Cacomantis passerinus) is a cuckoo with widespread occurrence throughout Asia.

Description[edit]

The grey-bellied cuckoo is one of the smaller cuckoos, at a total length of about 23 cm. Adults are mainly grey with a white lower belly and undertail. There is a white patch on the wings. Some females are dark-barred reddish brown above with an unbarred tail and have strongly dark-barred whitish underparts. The juvenile resembles the female but is of a duller grey.^[2]

Distribution and habitat[edit]

The grey-bellied cuckoo breeds in tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka to south China and Indonesia. It has been reported from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.^[1] It is a short-distance migrant, since birds at more northerly latitudes and on higher ground are summer visitors, leaving for warmer areas in winter. The species prefers light woodland and cultivated areas.^[2]

Ecology[edit]

The grey-bellied cuckoo is a brood parasite and uses warblers as hosts. It lays a single egg. Its diet consists of a variety of insects and caterpillars. This is a noisy species, with a persistent and loud pee-pip-pee-pee call, with its tail depressed.^[2]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b BirdLife International (2016). "Cacomantis passerinus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22683920A93007678. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22683920A93007678.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c Grimmett, Richard; Inskipp, Carol; Inskipp, Tim; Allen, Richard (2011). Birds of the Indian subcontinent. Christopher Helm.

Gallery[edit]

In Kinnerasani Wildlife Sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh, India.
In Kinnerasani Wildlife Sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Illustration by John Gerrard Keulemans, 1872.

[iucn_status_12_November_2021-1] BirdLife International (2016). "Cacomantis passerinus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22683920A93007678. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22683920A93007678.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.

[grimmett-2] Grimmett, Richard; Inskipp, Carol; Inskipp, Tim; Allen, Richard (2011). Birds of the Indian subcontinent. Christopher Helm.

[1]

[2]