cucuLiN^. 329 



205. Hierococcyx varius, Vahl. 



Cuculus, apud Vahl — Blyth, Cat. 339— Horsp., Cat. 1021 — 

 C. fugax, HoKSF., apud Sykes, Cat. 129— Jerdon, Cat. 222— C. 

 Latliami, Gray — Jerdon, 2nd Suppl.^ Cat. — C. temiirostrls, 

 Lesson — C. ejulans, Sundevall — Kupakov Upak,Il.' — Kok-gallo, 

 Beng. and Popiya, Hindi — Kutti-pitta, Tel. — Zakkhat (i. e. Custom- 

 house-bird) in some parts of the Deccan — Irolaii, Mai. 



The Common Hawk-Cuckoo. 



Descr. — Adult — Upper parts uniform ash-grey ; the winglet and 

 coverts of the primaries darker ; fore-neck and breast pale rufous, 

 each feather light grey in the centre ; belly and flanks white, barred 

 with adjoining lines of grey and rufous, the white hardly visible 

 exteriorly, from the overlapping, of the feathers ; thighs, vent, and 

 lower-coverts pure white, the first a little barred ; throat grey, and 

 some white at the base of the bill and sides of the throat ; tail grey, 

 tipped with faint rufous, and finally whitish, having a broad dusky 

 subterminal band, and five other narrower and undulating zig-zag 

 bands (one near the base) composed of a dusky bar, then a whitish 

 one adjoining, with some traces of rufous ; quills barred with 

 white on their inner webs for the basal two-thirds of their length. 



Bill dusky ; lower mandible, except the tip, and also the side of 

 the upper one at base, wax-yellow ; orbits brilliant gamboge-yellow ; 

 irides dull gamboge-yellow ; feet dull yellow. 



Length 13^ inches ; extent 22 ; wing 7 ; tail 6f ; bill at front- 

 -|-Tr ^ X9.rsiis ^» 



The young bird has the upper plumage browner, and rufous- 

 barred ; and the lower parts are whitish, tinged with rusty, and 

 with longitudinal brown drops. In older birds the spots are longi- 

 tudinal on the neck and breast, transverse and arrow-shaped on 

 the abdomen. 



This is the common Cuckoo of the plains of India, found 

 throughout the whole country, though most abundantly in wooded 

 districts. It frequents gardens, groves, avenues, and jungles, and 

 its loud crescendo notes are to be heard in the breeding season, 

 from chiefly April to July in the South of India, but beginning 



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