Large hawk-cuckoo

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Large hawk-cuckoo
Large hawk-cuckoo (Hierococcyx sparverioides) JEG1947.jpg
Calls
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Cuculiformes
Family: Cuculidae
Genus: Hierococcyx
Species:
H. sparverioides
Binomial name
Hierococcyx sparverioides
(Vigors, 1832)
Synonyms

Cuculus sparverioides

The large hawk-cuckoo (Hierococcyx sparverioides) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It has a wide breeding distribution from temperate Asia along the Himalayas extending to East Asia. Many populations winter further south. They are known for their loud and repetitive calls which are similar to that of the common hawk-cuckoo but do not rise in crescendo. They are also somewhat larger and adults can be readily told apart from the smaller common hawk-cuckoo by the black patch on the chin. They are brood-parasites of babblers and laughing-thrushes.

Contents

Distribution

It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Found as a vagrant on Christmas Island. [2] The subspecies H. s. bocki of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo is usually considered a separate species, the dark hawk-cuckoo. [3]

Habitats

Its natural habitats are temperate forest and subtropical or tropical mangrove forest.

Behaviour

They call in summer and calling goes on well after dusk. In their winter grounds, they tend to be silent.

Like many other cuckoos, this species is a brood parasite. Many laughing-thrushes (example Pterorhinus sannio ) are capable of detecting the eggs of the cuckoo and remove them. The cuckoos lay eggs that mimic those of their hosts. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The common cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hodgson's hawk-cuckoo</span> Species of bird

Hodgson's hawk-cuckoo, also known as the whistling hawk-cuckoo is a species of cuckoo found in north-eastern India, Myanmar, southern China and southeast Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common hawk-cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The common hawk-cuckoo, popularly known as the brainfever bird, is a medium-sized cuckoo resident in the Indian subcontinent. It bears a close resemblance to the Shikra, even in its style of flying and landing on a perch. The resemblance to hawks gives this group the generic name of hawk-cuckoo and like many other cuckoos these are brood parasites, laying their eggs in nests of babblers. During their breeding season in summer males produce loud, repetitive three note calls that are well-rendered as brain-fever, the second note being longer and higher pitched. These notes rise to a crescendo before ending abruptly and repeat after a few minutes; the calling may go on through the day, well after dusk and before dawn.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Hierococcyx sparverioides". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22728111A94970879. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22728111A94970879.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. McAllan, I.A.W., James, D.J. 2008 Large Hawk-Cuckoo Hierococcyx sparverioides on Christmas Island. Australian Field Ornithology 25 (1):31-35
  3. Payne, Robert B. (2005) The Cuckoos, Oxford University Press.
  4. Yang, Canchao; Su, Tongping; Liang, Wei; Møller, Anders Pape (2015-08-01). "Coevolution between the large hawk-cuckoo (Cuculus sparverioides) and its two sympatric Leiothrichidae hosts: evidence for recent expansion and switch in host use?". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 115 (4): 919–926. doi: 10.1111/bij.12538 . ISSN   0024-4066.
  5. Numerov, A. D. Inter-species and Intra-species brood parasitism in Birds. Voronezh: Voronezh University. 2003. 516 p. [In Russian] Нумеров А. Д. Межвидовой и внутривидовой гнездовой паразитизм у птиц. Воронеж: ФГУП ИПФ Воронеж. 2003. C. 38-40.
  6. As subspecies of Brachypteryx leucophrys
  7. As subspecies of Lanius schach
  8. As subspecies of Pellorneum albiventre
  9. As subspecies of Prinia atrogularis