Banded bay cuckoo

Cacomantis sonneratii

Photo by Koshy Koshy (Oriental Bird Images)

Common name:

banded bay cuckoo (en); cuco-listado (pt); coucou de Sonnerat (fr); cuco bayo (es); Sonneratkuckuck (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Cuculiformes

Family Cuculidae

Range:

This Asian species is found in India and Sri Lanka, north to Nepal, and east to Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos Cambodja, Thailand and Vietnam. They are also found in Malaysia and in Indonesia in Borneo, Sumatra and Java.

Size:

This small cuckoo is 22 cm long and has a wingspan of 25-27 cm. Males and females are similar in size, weighing 35 g.

Habitat:

They are found in well wooded habitats, mostly tropical and sub-tropical moist lowland forests, bur also in dense scrubland.

Diet:

Their diet is essentially insectivorous, hunting a variety of insects found in the foliage or in flight.

Breeding:

The breeding season varies widely between different parts of their range, so much that they can breed all year round. They are brood parasites, laying the eggs on the nests of other species, namely bulbuls and small babblers. The banded bay cuckoo chick hatches earlier than the chicks of the host and evicts the other eggs, or chicks from the nest as soon as possible. The hosts will then feed the chick until fledging.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

The species is described as common throughout their very large breeding range. Since there is no evidence for any declines or substantial threats, the species is not considered threatened at present.