CUCULUS 471 



672. GREYHEADED CUCKOO. 

 CUCULUS POLIOCEPHALUS. 



Cuculus poliocephalus, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 214 (1790) ; Gould, Cent. 

 B. Himalay. pi. 54; Shelley, Cat. B. Br. Mus. xix. p. 255 ; 

 Blanf. F. Brit. Ind. Birds, iii. p. 208 ; Tacz. F. 0. Sib. 0. 

 p. 693 ; C. bartletti, Layard, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. 2nd. ser- 

 xiii. p. 452 (1854). 



Dang-hlem, Lepch. ; Pichu-giapo, Bhotia ; Hototigisu, Jap. 



ad. (Japan). Eesembles C. canorus but is considerably smaller, the 

 upper parts are darker, the abdomen and under tail-coverts are warm buff 

 and the black bars on the breast are broader ; bill blackish horn ; the base 

 of the lower mandible, gape, eyelid, and feet yellow ; iris brown. Culmen 

 0'75, wing 6*0, tail 5'0, tarsus 0'6 inch. Sexes alike. The young resemble 

 those of C. canorus but are darker. 



Hob. Himalayas, N. China, and Japan in summer, wintering 

 in India, Ceylon, the Malay Peninsula, Java, and Borneo; 

 Africa south of 6 N. Lat., and Madagascar (C. rochi). 



This Cuckoo frequents the outskirts of forests, especially 

 where there are old trees, and is very shy. Its note differs 

 greatly from that of the other Cuckoos, and is often uttered at 

 night. It consists of an unmusical call of several syllables, and 

 is often heard, as it is a noisy bird. In general habits, food, and 

 mode of nidification it resembles C. canorus, but its eggs are 

 not yet known with certainty. 



673. INDIAN CUCKOO. 

 CUCULUS MICROPTERUS. 



Cuculus micropterus, Gould, P.Z.S. 1837, p. 137 ; David and Oust. 

 Ois. Chine, p. 64 ; Shelley, Cat. B. Br. Mus. xix. p. 241 ; 

 Blanf. F. Brit. Ind. Birds, iii. p. 210 ; C. striatus, Gray, Cat. 

 Mamm. etc. Nepal (1846) ; Seebohm, Ibis, 1878, p. 327. 



Boukotako, Beng. ; Takpo, Lepch. ; Kankatong, Bhot. 



ad. (Burma). Upper parts dark brown, the head, neck, and sides of 

 the latter merging into dark grey ; quills with white bars on the inner 

 webs ; tail rather paler than the back, with a broad subterminal black band 

 tipped with white, and with white and black marks along the shafts of the 

 feathers ; throat and breast pale ashy ; rest of the under parts creamy 

 white barred with black ; bill blackish horn above, dull green below ; 



