Chestnut-winged Cuckoo

Clamator coromandus

Family: Cuckoos · Status: Uncommon migrant · Size: 38–41.5 cm · Conservation: Least Concern

Range

Breeds from northern India to eastern and southern China, Indochina, Myanmar and Thailand. Winters in southern India, Sri Lanka, the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo.

Identification

Adult has glossy black upperparts and long spiky crest, white hindcollar, rufous-chestnut wings, whitish underparts with orange-rufous throat, and long slender black tail. Differs from Jacobin Cuckoo by rufous-chestnut wings, orange-rufous throat, and more prominent crest; Jacobin Cuckoo has pied colouration, black wings with a small white primary patch, all-white underparts, and a shorter crest.

Habitat

Wooded areas, mangroves, gardens and parks.

Behaviour

Follows mixed-species flocks. A brood parasite; hosts are mainly laughingthrushes.