Common Indian Cuckoo
Chris Packham presents the Indian cuckoo found across much of South East Asia.
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Chris Packham presents the Indian cuckoo found across much of South East Asia. A bird singing "crossword puzzle" - "crossword puzzle" over the woods is an Indian Cuckoo, a shy and slender bird, grey above and barred black and white below. These features are similar to those of a small hawk and when a cuckoo flies across a woodland glade, it's often mobbed by other birds. They're right to sense danger. Indian cuckoos are brood parasites and the females lay their eggs in the nests of other species including drongos, magpies and shrikes. The Indian cuckoo's song is well-known in the Indian sub-Continent and has been interpreted in different ways. As well as "crossword puzzle " some think it's saying "one more bottle" or "orange pekoe". And in the Kangra valley in northern India, the call is said to be the soul of a dead shepherd asking "... where is my sheep? Where is my sheep?".
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Next
Indian cuckoo (Cuculus micropterus)
Webpage image courtesy of M. Strange / Vireo / naturepl.com
NPL Ref 01471641 漏 M. Strange / Vireo / naturepl.com
Broadcasts
- Wed 12 Nov 2014 05:5891热爆 Radio 4
- Sun 16 Nov 2014 08:5891热爆 Radio 4
- Tue 10 Nov 2015 05:5891热爆 Radio 4
- Mon 25 Mar 2019 05:5891热爆 Radio 4
- Sun 27 Dec 2020 08:5891热爆 Radio 4
- Fri 12 Aug 2022 05:5891热爆 Radio 4
Podcast: Planet Puffin
Try this new podcast
Five stories of birds and birdsong are told by the people inspired by them.
Podcast
-
Tweet of the Day
Discover birds through their songs and calls. 265 programmes of 90 seconds, over a year