Common Hawk-Cuckoo/ Brainfever bird, அக்காக்குயில், அக்காக்குருவி

 

 Common name: Common Hawk-Cuckoo/Brainfever bird

Scientific name: Hierococcyx varius 

Photo credit: Manoj Kumar.K and B. S. Karthikeyan

Photo shot at: Nearby Cauvery mens hostel, BDU 

This is a medium-sized cuckoo resident in the Indian Subcontinent. It closely resembles to the Shikra (a sparrow hawk) even in its style of flying and landing on a perch resembles to it and gives this group the generic name of hawk-cuckoo and like many other cuckoos these are brood parasites, laying their eggs in nests of babblers. During their breeding season in summer males produce loud, repetitive three note calls that are well-rendered as brain-fever, the second note being longer and higher. The cuckoo shown in this photo is a little immature one. During the photo shoot, Babblers were feeding it.