Common Hawk Cuckoo

Latin Name: 
Hierococcyx varius
Category: 
Size: 
35cm
Description: 

Sexes alike. Ashy-grey above; dark bars on rufescent-tipped tail; dull white below, with pale ashy-rufous on breast; barred below. Young birds broadly-streaked dark below; pale rufous barrings on brown upper body. Solitary, rarely in pairs; strictly arboreal; noisy during May–September; silent after rains.

Habitat: 
forests, open country, near habitation.
Food: 
chiefly insects; rarely wild fruit and small lizards.
Distribution: 
subcontinent, south of Himalayan foothills; uncommon, even during rains, in arid zones.
Call: 
Call Description: 
famous call notes; interpreted as brain-fever…, uttered untiringly in crescendo; also described as pipeeha… pipeeha…; very noisy in overcast weather.
National Status: