Banded Bay Cuckoo Cacomantis sonneratii in China is resident in southern and western Yunnan. HABITAT & BEHAVIOR Broadleaved forests, to 1300 m (4,270 ft.). Heard more often than seen. Often sallies for flying insects. Parasitizes nests of bulbuls, minivets, small babblers, and common iora. ID White supercilium above dark eyeline. White underparts finely barred black. Rich brown above, including crown, with wing a bit darker; all barred blackish. Tail tipped white. Juvenile is even more barred above and has less obvious supercilium. BARE PARTS Bill black above, greenish-grey below; eye dark. Feet grey. VOICE Loud, four-syllable call, somewhat like Indian Cuckoo but more quickly uttered and thinner. Other call of several notes, rising in pitch and speed then breaking off suddenly. — Craig Brelsford
SOUND-RECORDINGS
Banded Bay Cuckoo Cacomantis sonneratii, four-note whistle, Baoshan (25.401533, 99.287200), Yunnan, China, elev. 1290 m (4,230 ft.), 5 March, by Craig Brelsford (0:07, 1.1 MB)
Banded Bay Cuckoo Cacomantis sonneratii, rising call plus four-note whistle, Baoshan (25.401533, 99.287200), Yunnan, China, elev. 1290 m (4,230 ft.), 5 March, by Craig Brelsford (1:18, 3.9 MB)
THE CUCKOOS OF CHINA
shanghaibirding.com covers every species in the order Cuculiformes in China. Click any link below:
Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis
Lesser Coucal C. bengalensis
Green-billed Malkoha Phaenicophaeus tristis
Chestnut-winged Cuckoo Clamator coromandus
Jacobin Cuckoo C. jacobinus
Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopaceus
Asian Emerald Cuckoo Chrysococcyx maculatus
Violet Cuckoo C. xanthorhynchus
Banded Bay Cuckoo Cacomantis sonneratii
Plaintive Cuckoo C. merulinus
Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo Surniculus lugubris
Large Hawk-Cuckoo Hierococcyx sparverioides
Common Hawk-Cuckoo H. varius
Rufous Hawk-Cuckoo H. hyperythrus
Hodgson’s Hawk-Cuckoo H. nisicolor
Lesser Cuckoo Cuculus poliocephalus
Indian Cuckoo C. micropterus
Himalayan Cuckoo C. saturatus
Oriental Cuckoo C. optatus
Common Cuckoo C. canorus
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Daniel Bengtsson served as chief ornithological consultant for Craig Brelsford’s Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of China, from which this species description is drawn.
