Birds of Singapore
by the Bird Society of Singapore
Clamator jacobinus
Family: Cuckoos · Status: Vagrant · Size: 31.5–33 cm · Conservation: Least Concern
Breeds across sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian subcontinent. The Indian subcontinent population winters in Africa and Myanmar. A vagrant to Cambodia, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, and Singapore.
Glossy black upperparts, hindneck, and wings, all-white underparts, and a small white patch on the primaries, short spiky crest; smaller than Chestnut-winged Cuckoo and lacks the rufous-chestnut wings and orange-rufous throat of that species.
Open woodland and scrub.
Like many other cuckoos, feeds mainly on hairy caterpillars. Forages among shrubs and trees but can also be observed feeding on the ground.