Cuckoo

Indian Cuckoo By courtesy of Henry Lui

Cuckoos are universally known for their song. In fact the name ‘cuckoo' is an onomatopoeia – a word which imitates the natural noises made by the bird. The Hindu religion has an observance relating to the cuckoo's voice, wherein women take a vow not to eat any food until they have heard the cuckoo's call. Nevertheless it is easier to hear the voice of the cuckoo than to see the bird itself. Cuckoos have an extended family. On the CUHK campus, there are the Indian Cuckoo, the Chestnut-winged Cuckoo, the Large Hawk Cuckoo, the Plaintive Cuckoo, and the Common Koel. The Indian Cuckoo is a medium-sized cuckoo with a grey-head and brownish upperparts. Its loud four-note whistle ‘ko-ko-ta-to' (with the fourth note lower) can be heard from mid-April. The Chestnut-winged Cuckoo is a distinctive bird with a long black crest, dark glossy blue upperparts, and a white band on its hind neck. It has a persistent ‘peep peep' whistle. The call of the yellow-billed Large Hawk Cuckoo is said to sound like ‘brain-fever'. It is sometimes repeated in a crescendo scale until it ends in a piercing scream, after which the bird is silent for a few minutes, before it resumes from another vantage point. The ringing voice fills the air on campus from late spring and throughout the summer. The persistent, distinctive cry of the Plaintive Cuckoo makes it more often heard than seen. A small-sized cuckoo, its call consists of eight notes, the first four of which are long, slow and rising, and the latter four, short, fast, and falling. The Koel is named after the loud and incessant call of its male, ‘ko-el', which, in certain communities in South Asia , is interpreted as a harbinger of evil.

Extracted from ‘CUHK Campus – Avifauna and Fauna on CUHK Campus', Chinese University Bulletin Spring/Autumn 2005
http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/puo/bulletin/issue200501/English/avifauna.htm

Common Koel By courtesy of Cheung Ho Fai