Pied Cuckoo Clamator jacobinus Scientific name definitions

31–34 cm; 66 g (India), 69·2–104 g (serratus) (1 Payne, R. B. (2005). The Cuckoos. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Adult glossy black above with black crest, white patch on black wings and white tips to black tail ; white below; iris brown, bill black, feet slate-grey. Juvenile brown to sooty black above, whitish below with fulvous or grey on breast, tail spots buff (not white); eyering yellow. Races differ in plumage and size: jacobinus smaller, pica larger, both unstreaked below; <em>serratus</em> 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.

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Open woodland and scrub, dry thorn savanna, thorny jungle, plains. In India mainly in lowlands, plains and hills up to 2000 m, on migration to 4200 m in Himalayas; in Africa to 3000 m, but mainly below 1500 m.

An intra-African migrant in N and S, arriving on breeding grounds with rains and abundance of caterpillars. In far W Africa, breeds in Mauritania and migrates to Senegal and Gambia, where recent records are all in Nov–Dec; in Mali, present May–Oct; in Togo and Nigeria mainly seasonal, in N in Apr–Sept and in S in dry season; in savanna and forest edge in Gabon, juveniles appear as rare migrants in Dec. In E Africa a diurnal migrant, observed to move NW over Serengeti Plains in Feb–Mar. In S Africa, appears in E Cape in late Oct; moves towards more equatorial woodlands for dry season. Black-morph serratus appears in austral winter N to Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and Chad, occasionally wanders to W Africa. Seasonal with the rains in India, occurring NE India May–Sept and disappearing early in dry season; present in C Myanmar May to early Nov. Nominate jacobinus from India winters in E and C Africa. Race pica nearly unknown in winter in Asia (one record Nepal), migrates to Africa, where not distinguishable from African pica: most Asian migrants move across Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean; more than 20 records in Oman and S Arabia, mainly in migration season; also observed on Seychelles during migration period. Recorded as vagrant in several other countries including United Arab Emirates, Oman, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines (Luzon and Baluyan Is) (2 Allen, D., C. P. Española, G. Broad, C. Oliveros, and J. C. T. Gonzalez (2006). New bird records for the Babuyan Islands, Philippines, including two first records for the Philippines. Forktail 22:57–70. Close , 3 Jensen, A. E., T. H. Fisher, and R. O. Hutchinson (2015). Notable new bird records from the Philippines. Forktail 31:24–36. Close ) and Japan (Iriomote); however, a bird in S Finland in Sept was regarded as a likely escape (4 Lees, A.C. and Mahood, S.P. (2011). Jacobin Cuckoo in Finland in September 1976: a plea for reassessment. Dutch Birding. 33: 325–328. Close ).

Insects , mainly hairy caterpillars  , also grasshoppers, mantids, termites; forest snails; eggs of host birds; berries. Feeds mainly in trees and bushes, also descends to ground and hops in search of food.

Jacobin Cuckoo is a very vocal conspicuous species during the breeding season, mainly in the rainy period both in Asia and Africa.

Vocal Development

Begging calls are said to be similar or identical to the host's nestlings (5 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban (Editors) (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London & San Diego. Close ). As in Great Spotted Cuckoo C. glandarius, it is unclear whether this is an evolutionary adaptation or some type of vocal mimicry. In Sri Lanka, a case of a fledged juvenile bird vocalising like the adult host species (Yellow-billed Babbler Turdoides affinis) has been described, but could not be documented (6 Jamie G. A., and G. S. Wijeyaratne (2014) Similarity of the calls of juvenile Pied Cuckoo Clamator jacobinus and its Sri Lankan host species, Yellow-billed Babbler Turdoides affinis. Forktail 30:133-134 Close ). An immature bird in South India apparently shows a similar behaviour .

Vocal Array

Advertisement call. A series of loud ringing or yelping notes uttered at steady pace kleeuw...kleeuw...kleeuw… Depending on level of excitement, every kleeuw note can be followed by 1‒4 shorter notes. kleeuw note is quite variable, but typically has a duration of ⁓0.2s and a maximum frequency of ⁓2.5kHz, either mainly flat-pitched or descending in pitch; given at a pace of ⁓1note/s.

Kekekek. A rapid strident triplet of near-identical notes kekekek. Also a single kek or doubled kek-kek can be heard, or alternatively a rattle of 4 or 5 similar kek notes may be given. This vocalisation is often given prior to the advertisement call.

Grek. A short subdued raspy note grek.

Other. During interactions of several vocalising birds, a medley of advertisement calls at different pitches, kekekek rattles and lower more throaty whistles can be heard.

Geographic variation

Has not been studied in detail. Voice of African and Asian birds sounds very similar. In the Indian subcontinent, nominate said to differ from serratus race (7 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2012). Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Volumes 1 and 2. Second edition. National Museum of Natural History—Smithsonian Institution, Michigan State University, and Lynx Edicions, Washington, DC, East Lansing, MI, and Barcelona, Spain. Close ), with a mellower advertisement call and faster Kekekek call, but this was based on only a few sound recordings and requires further study,

Phenology

Immediately after their arrival on the breeding grounds, Pied Cuckoos perform noisy courtship chases, often involving several birds. Single birds also advertise loudly, either perched or in flight. The intensity of chases soon drops, and birds tend to be less vocal in the second half of the breeding period (8 Gaston, A. J. (1976). Brood parasitism by the Pied Crested Cuckoo Clamator jacobinus. Journal of Animal Ecology 45(2):331–348. Close ). Outside the breeding season it is heard only occasionally, also on non-breeding grounds (9 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2014). The Birds of Ghana: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press, Liège, Belgium. Close ).

Daily Pattern of Vocalizing

Birds are mainly heard in the morning and late afternoon. However advertisement call is also often heard at night. Even in the non-breeding season, nocturnal calling has been noted, with voice slightly different from typical advertisement call (9 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2014). The Birds of Ghana: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press, Liège, Belgium. Close ).

Places of Vocalizing

Birds vocalize either from an exposed perch such as bare branches, or in flight.

Sex Differences

Little information. Advertisement call is uttered by both sexes (5 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban (Editors) (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London & San Diego. Close ).

Social Content and Presumed Functions of Vocalizations

Advertisement call presumably has a territorial function, although home range apparently not defended against conspecifics (5 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban (Editors) (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London & San Diego. Close ). Courtship chases may play a role in pair bonding (8 Gaston, A. J. (1976). Brood parasitism by the Pied Crested Cuckoo Clamator jacobinus. Journal of Animal Ecology 45(2):331–348. Close ).

None documented.

Breeds in rains: in N India Jun–Aug, and in S Nilgiris Jan–Mar; in W Africa May–Jul; in Ethiopia Mar–Oct; in E Africa season coincides with the local rains, E of Rift Valley occurring Mar–May, from Rift westwards in Mar–Aug; in S Africa Nov–Mar. Brood-parasitic, with hosts mainly <em>Turdoides</em> and Argya babblers: in India Common Babbler (A. caudata), Jungle Babbler  (T. striata) and Large Grey Babbler (A. malcolmi); in Mauritania, Kenya and Ethiopia Fulvous Babbler (A. fulva) and Rufous Chatterer (A. rubiginosa); in S Africa bulbuls (Pycnonotus, Andropadus importunus) and Common Fiscals (Lanius collaris). Eggs blue in India, Sri Lanka and Africa N of 14° S, white in S Africa, rarely white in Mali and Kenya; 24 mm × 19 mm (India), 23–28·5 mm × 19–24 mm, mass 5·7–7·9 g (S Africa) and 22·1–26 mm × 18·1–22 mm (elsewhere in Africa); incubation 11–12 days. Nestlings either eject host’s eggs or young or they monopolize food in nest, depending on host species; fledging 17–18 days.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Reported to be generally common, or at least not uncommon, throughout much of its extensive breeding range, e.g. common in parts of S India in Jul–Aug. No known threats to its numbers or habitats. May have an adverse impact on the breeding success of its host populations: e.g. 36% of Cape Bulbul (Pycnonotus capensis) nests were parasitized locally in S Africa.