Asian Drongo-cuckoo
Encyclopedia
The Asian Drongo-Cuckoo Surniculus lugubris is a species of cuckoo
that resembles a Black Drongo
. It can be easily distinguished by its straight beak and the white barred vent. It is a brood parasite
on small babbler
s. It is not known how or whether the drongo
-like appearance benefits this species but it is suspected that it aids in brood-parasitism just as hawk-cuckoos appear like hawks.
It shares the genus Surniculus with the Philippine Drongo-Cuckoo
Surniculus velutinus which is sometimes treated as a subspecies of S. lugubris, but can be separated as a species on the basis of vocalization and juvenile plumage.
Some recent work suggests that the species may need to be split into two based on call and morphological differences:
Cuckoo
The cuckoos are a family, Cuculidae, of near passerine birds. The order Cuculiformes, in addition to the cuckoos, also includes the turacos . Some zoologists and taxonomists have also included the unique Hoatzin in the Cuculiformes, but its taxonomy remains in dispute...
that resembles a Black Drongo
Black Drongo
The Black Drongo , also known as the King Crow, is a small Asian passerine bird of the drongo family Dicruridae. Previously considered a subspecies of the African Fork-tailed Drongo , it is now recognized as a full species...
. It can be easily distinguished by its straight beak and the white barred vent. It is a brood parasite
Brood parasite
Brood parasites are organisms that use the strategy of brood parasitism, a kind of kleptoparasitism found among birds, fish or insects, involving the manipulation and use of host individuals either of the same or different species to raise the young of the brood-parasite...
on small babbler
Babbler
Babbler may refer to:* Old World babbler, a large family of mostly Old World passerine birds* Australo-Papuan babbler, passerine birds endemic to Australia-New Guinea* The Babbler, the journal of BirdLife International in Indochina...
s. It is not known how or whether the drongo
Drongo
The drongos are a family of small passerine birds of the Old World tropics, the Dicruridae. This family was sometimes much enlarged to include a number of largely Australasian groups, such as the Australasian fantails, monarchs and paradise flycatchers...
-like appearance benefits this species but it is suspected that it aids in brood-parasitism just as hawk-cuckoos appear like hawks.
It shares the genus Surniculus with the Philippine Drongo-Cuckoo
Philippine Drongo-cuckoo
The Philippine Drongo-Cuckoo is a bird of the cuckoo family found only in the Philippines. It belongs to the genus Surniculus along with the Asian Drongo-Cuckoo . The two were previously classified as a single species but are now often separated based on differences in calls and juvenile...
Surniculus velutinus which is sometimes treated as a subspecies of S. lugubris, but can be separated as a species on the basis of vocalization and juvenile plumage.
Some recent work suggests that the species may need to be split into two based on call and morphological differences:
- Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo (Surniculus lugubris including brachyurus, musschenbroeki. This has white bars on vent and outer undertail, tail only notched with slightly flared tips. In flight a white wing-stripe is visible from below. This is found in South East Asia and is a summer visitor to the Himalayas from Kashmir to eastern Bangladesh. The calls are series of piercing sharp whistles rising in pitch but shrill and choppily delivered.
- Fork-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo (Surniculus dicruroides) - has a deeply forked tail often having a white spot on the back of the head. The race is Sri Lanka stewarti has a shallower fork. Found resident mainly in peninsular India in hill forests although some specimens are known from the Himalayan foothills. They are said to brood parasiticBrood parasiteBrood parasites are organisms that use the strategy of brood parasitism, a kind of kleptoparasitism found among birds, fish or insects, involving the manipulation and use of host individuals either of the same or different species to raise the young of the brood-parasite...
on Dark-fronted BabblerDark-fronted BabblerThe Dark-fronted Babbler is an Old World babbler found in the Western Ghats of India and the forests of Sri Lanka. They are tiny chestnut brown birds with a dark black cap, a whitish underside and pale yellow iris...
s. The song has been described as a series of 5 or 6 whistling "pip-pip-pip-pip-pip-" notes rising in pitch with each "pip".
