Hierococcyx

Hierococcyx
Philippine hawk-cuckoo (Hierococcyx pectoralis)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Cuculiformes
Family:	Cuculidae
Genus:	Hierococcyx Müller, 1845
Type species
Cuculus fugax [1] Horsfield, 1821
Species
8, see text

Hierococcyx or hawk-cuckoos is a genus of birds in the family Cuculidae. They are distributed in South, Southeast, and East Asia. ^[2] The resemblance to hawks gives this group the generic name of hawk-cuckoos.

They are known to vocalize at their breeding grounds, making identification based on calls easy. ^[3]

It is sometimes included in the genus Cuculus .

It's similarity to hawks gave rise to an ancient belief that cuckoos transformed themself into hawks during the winter months, when cuckoos disappeared from Europe. ^[4]

Mimicry

Hawk-cuckoos closely resemble accipiters in terms of appearance, an elongated body with long wings and tail, greyish or brownish upperparts with paler barred upperparts, as well as their swift direct flight. ^[5]

Apart from shape and colour, underpart barring tend to increase alarm in small parts. This form of batesian mimicry makes the cuckoo look dangerous to the host, reducing host agression or Mobbing (animal behavior), resulting in more opportunities for the cuckoo to perform brood parasitism. ^[6]

Species

There are eight species: ^[2]

Genus Hierococcyx – Müller, 1845 – eight species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Moustached hawk-cuckoo	Hierococcyx vagans (Müller, S, 1845)	southern Myanmar, Thailand, southern Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and Kalimantan, Sumatra and Java of Indonesia	Size: Habitat: Diet:	NT
Large hawk-cuckoo	Hierococcyx sparverioides (Vigors, 1832)	Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Dark hawk-cuckoo	Hierococcyx bocki Wardlaw-Ramsay, 1886	northern Sarawak and Sabah. In Indonesia it is found on Sumatra and in Kalimantan.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Common hawk-cuckoo	Hierococcyx varius (Vahl, 1797)	Indian subcontinent, from Pakistan in the west, across the Himalayas foothills, east to Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and North East India	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Northern hawk-cuckoo	Hierococcyx hyperythrus (Gould, 1856)	eastern China, North and South Korea, far eastern Russia, Borneo, and Japan.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Philippine hawk-cuckoo	Hierococcyx pectoralis Cabanis & Heine, 1863	Philippines	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Malaysian hawk-cuckoo	Hierococcyx fugax (Horsfield, 1821)	southern Burma, southern Thailand, Malaya, Singapore, Borneo, Sumatra and western Java	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Hodgson's hawk-cuckoo	Hierococcyx nisicolor (Blyth, 1843)	north-eastern India, Myanmar, southern China and southeast Asia. 180px|alt=Map of range	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC

References

1. "Cuculidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
2. Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P., eds. (January 2023). "Turacos, bustards, cuckoos, mesites, sandgrouse". IOC World Bird List. v 13.1. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
3. Eaton J (2018). "Identification of Hierococcyx hawk cuckoos, and the first record of Northern Hawk Cuckoo Hierococcyx hyperythrus for continental South-East Asia". BirdingASIA. 30: 68–73.
4. Pliny, in Rackham 1997
5. Davies NB, Welbergen JA (8 May 2008). "Cuckoo–hawk mimicry? An experimental test". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 275 (1644): 1817–1822. doi:10.1098/rspb.2008.0331. PMID   18467298.
6. Welbergen JA, Davies NB (1 January 2011). "A parasite in wolf's clothing: hawk mimicry reduces mobbing of cuckoos by hosts". Behavioral Ecology. 22 (3): 574–579. doi:10.1093/beheco/arr008.