THE BIRDS OF NORTHERN THAILAND 161 



from 2,700 feet to the summit. It is a melodious 4-note whistle, often 

 repeated, which, to the people at Chiang Mai, says Mister Queripel, the 

 name of a well-known resident. There is no evidence of the bird's 

 occurrence outside the breeding season, but it is almost certainly 

 present throughout the year. 



The coloration of this cuckoo is much the same as that of the two 

 following species, but it may always be distinguished in any plumage 

 by having each tail feather with a broad black subterminal band 

 and a white tip. 



CUCULUS CANORUS BAKERI Hartert 



Khasya Hills Common Cuckoo 



Cuculus canorus oakeri Haetekt, Vogel der palaarktischen Fauna, vol. 2, 1912, 

 pp. 948-949 (Shillong, Khasya Hills, Assam). 



The only example of this bird from our provinces is an immature 

 female in the hepatic phase, taken by me on Doi Suthep at 3,000 feet, 

 September 26, 1936. The specimen I recorded in 1931 and 1936 has 

 proved to belong to another but very similar species and will be dealt 

 with below. 



The common cuckoo might be expected to occur in our districts 

 with some frequency, for it appears to be numerous in April in the 

 hills of Kengtung State, just beyond our borders; however, I have 

 never heard the familiar call anywhere in Thailand. 



This form is closely related to the cuckoo of Europe. The normal 

 adult has the upperparts gray; the throat and breast ashy; the re- 

 maining underparts barred blackish brown and white. The hepatic 

 phase of the female differs in having the entire upperparts barred 

 rufous and blackish brown and the barring of the underparts extend- 

 ing to the chin. 



The species should be distinguishable from its congeners by the 

 absence of a black subterminal band from the tail and by its having 

 the edge of the wing and the under wing coverts barred blackish 

 brown and white. 1 



My specimen can be matched in every particular by summer birds 

 of comparable age, sex, and color phase from western Szechwan and 

 northwestern Yunnan. 



CUCULUS SATURATUS SATURATUS Blyth 



Southern Saturated Cuckoo 



C[uculus] saturatus "Hodgson" Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, vol. 12, 1843, 



p. 942 (no locality given; types from Nepal, fide Catalogue of the birds in 



the British Museum, vol. 19, 1891, p. 254). 

 Cuculus canorus, Detgnan, Journ. Siam Soc. Nat. Hist. Suppl., 1931, p. 159 (Doi 



Suthep) . 

 Cuculus canorus oakeri, Deignan, Journ. Siam Soc. Nat. Hist. Suppl., 1936, p. 



87 (Doi Suthep). 



