Jacobin Cuckoo

Jacobin Cuckoo

      Introduction of Jacobin Cuckoo

     The Jacobin Cuckoo also known as Pied Cuckoo or Pied Crested Cuckoo (Scientific name : Clamator jacobinus) is a member of the  order cuckoo  and belongs to the family  Cuculidae. In India it is known as  "Chatak" and there is a myth that the  bird  waits for rains to quench its thirst.

            How to Identify Jacobin Cuckoo

     Jacobin Cuckoo is a medium sized bird. Length  is around 31–34 cm and weight approx 66 g. Upper part of adult  Jacobin Cuckoo is glossy black  with a black crest. There is white patch on black wings and white tips to black tail. Underpart is white,  brown iris and bill is black. Feet are slate-grey. Upper part of juvenile Jacobin Cuckoo is brown to sooty black. whitish below with fulvous or grey on breast, tail spots is buff instead of  white and eye ring yellow. It has three sub-species and races differ in plumage and size. jacobinus jacobinus is smaller and jacobinus pica is larger and  both are unstreaked below. serratus is also  larger, with two colour morphs, one variably greyish white to white below with streaked throat, the other, mainly in coastal S Africa, all glossy black with white wing patch and no white in tail.

             Habits and Habitats

     Natural habitats of  Jacobin Cuckoo are open woodland and scrub, dry thorn savanna, thorny jungle, plains. In India, Jacobins are found  mainly in lowlands, plains and hills up to 2000 m, on migration to 4200 m in Himalayas. 

             Distribution

      In the south of India, there is a population that is resident year-round. But in central and northern parts, Jacobin Cuckoos are seen only from just before the monsoon to early winter. It have three sub-species as belows:

Clamator jacobinus jacobinus: Found in South India and Sri Lanka.

Clamator jacobinus pica: Found in Sub-Saharan Africa; north-west India to Nepal and Myanmar.

Clamator jacobinus serratus: Found in South Africa.

             Food

      Insects, mainly hairy caterpillar, grasshoppers, mantids, termites; forest snails and also the  eggs of host birds, berries are in the food list of Jacobin Cuckoo . This bird is primarily arboreal which means that it mostly lives on trees and feeds mainly in trees and bushes. But  also descends to ground and hops in search of food.

            Call

     Loud ringing “kleeuw, kleeuw, kleeuw”, each note descending, repeated in series, by both sexes; males often follow with faster series of short rising notes, “kwik-kwik-kwik...!”, and call “kweek!”. Often calls at night.

           Breeding and Nesting

     Jacobin Cuckoo breeds in rainy season. In North India , breeding time is Jun–Aug and in S Nilgiris Jan–Mar. This bird  is a brood parasite i.e. it lays its eggs in nests that belong to other birds. In India, Jacobins prefers to lay eggs in the nest of  Common Babbler (A. caudata), Jungle Babbler  (T. striata) and Large Grey Babbler (A. malcolmi). Color of eggs are blue in India, Sri Lanka and Africa N of 14° S, Size of the egg is 24 mm × 19 mm (India). Incubation period are 11–12 days and  fledging  period are 17–18 days.