CUCKOOS 
(CHCuliformes) 
Members of this very iar^e family are found in most parts 
of the world but they are more numerous in the tropics. 
Cuckoos are abundant tn this part of the world and in 
the Malay Peninsula nL^arly thirty species occur of which some 
seventeen are recorded from Singapore. While some of these 
species, like the well-known crow-pheasant, are resident with us 
many others such as the iiawk-ciickoos (Hierococcys) and the 
koel (Eudynamis) are only met with in the winter months. 
In appearance tropical cuckoos vary greatly: some are 
clad in sombre colotirs^ others in metalhc greens and violets. 
The parasitic habits of some of the species have always 
directed popular attention to the cyckoos but it should be 
noted that many kinds are not parasitic but build their own 
nests and attend to their young in a norma! manner. 
[146] 
