Plaintive Cuckoo

The plaintive cuckoo is fairly small, about 21 to 24cm long, and native to Asia from India, Nepal and China to Indonesia. The adult male is grey-brown above and orange below with a grey head, throat and upper breast, white-tipped tail feathers, yellow legs, a red eye and a black-and-yellow bill. The rufous form is reddish-brown above with dark bars (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is a brood parasite, laying eggs larger than but similar to those of its hosts, which include cisticolas, prinias and tailorbirds. The male has several plaintive whistling calls. It feeds on invertebrates, is normally solitary and is often difficult to see, and small birds often mob it to drive it from their nests.