Pied Cuckoo

The Pied Cuckoo, Pied Crested Cuckoo, or Jacobin Cuckoo, Clamator jacobinus, is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis, and the Hoatzin.

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It breeds in Africa south of the Sahara Desert eastwards to India, Sri Lanka and Burma. It is a short-distance migrant, since birds at more northerly latitudes and on higher ground are summer visitors, leaving for warmer and wetter areas in winter.

The Pied Cuckoo is a bird of scrub, wetlands and cultivation. It is a brood parasite, and lays its single egg mostly in the nests of Turdoides babblers.

The Pied Cuckoo is a largish cuckoo at 33 cm. Adults have a prominent crest and a long, graduated tail. They occur in two distinct colour morphs: Adults of the light morph are black above with white underparts, whereas the dark morph is completely black except for a small white wing patch which occurs in both morphs. Juveniles are browner above and yellowish-white below.

The Pied Cuckoo takes a variety of insects and caterpillars. It is a noisy species, with a persistent and loud pipew pipew pipew call.

References

• BirdLife International (2004). Clamator jacobinus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
• Birds of The Gambia by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, ISBN 1-873403-32-1
• Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6
• Birds of Southern Africa by Sinclair, Hockey and Tarboton, ISBN 1-86872-721-1