Scientific Name: Cuculus saturatus
Malay Name: Sewah Gunung Asia
Chinese Name: 中杜鹃
Range: Found from northeast Pakistan, northern Indian subcontinent to southern China and winters to Southeast Asia and northern Australia
Taxonomy: Monotypic.
Size: 29 cm
Identification: Adult resembles Indian Cuckoo but has grey head, breast and upperparts, whitish underparts with prominent blackish bars and less obvious or no blackish bars on undertail-coverts. Hepatic female resembles hepatic female Plaintive and Rusty-breasted Cuckoo but has deeper orange upperparts and whiter underparts. It was formerly considered conspecific with Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus) which may but not confirmed to occur in Singapore. Based on current knowledge, it is impossible to separate Himalayan and Oriental Cuckoo in the field.
Similar looking species: Indian Cuckoo
Habitat: Forest, secondary growth and wooded areas.
Behaviour/Ecology:
Local Status: Very rare migrant
Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2021)
- Bird List Revision for June 2017 (Revisions)
- Some birds cannot be identified? (ID Articles)
Migrant bar chart (see more bar charts):
Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page
Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link
Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link
eBird Species page: eBird (Himalayan Cuckoo)
References:
BirdLife International. (2021). Cuculus saturatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22734715A201099367.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023
Lim, K. S. (2009). The Avifauna of Singapore. Nature Society (Singapore).
Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.
RECOMMENDED CITATION
Bird Society of Singapore. (n.d.). Himalayan Cuckoo. Retrieved on December 5, 2024 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/himalayan-cuckoo.