About: Pied Cuckoo
- Different Names
- Scientific Name- Clamator jacobinus
- The genus ‘Clamator’ literally translates to being a shouter, a bird which is quite vocal. The word ‘jacobinus’ relates to pied birds.
- These birds are also called as Chatak locally in India or pied crested cuckoo and Jacobin Cuckoo.
- Scientific Name- Clamator jacobinus
- It is a bird with black and white plumage (pied) with a fancy crest on the head.
- Distribution
- The species is distributed south of the Sahara in Africa and south of the Himalayas in India.
- It is also found in Sri Lanka and parts of Myanmar.
- The species is distributed south of the Sahara in Africa and south of the Himalayas in India.
- Populations in India
- There are two populations of the Pied Cuckoo in India.
- One is a resident in the southern part of the country. They are not migratory in nature.
- The other, makes its way to North and Central India from Africa by crossing the Arabian Sea, along with the monsoon winds.
- Though, it is believed that the pied cuckoos that come to the Himalayan foothills are from Africa, this has never been ascertained through collected data.
- Pied cuckoos have high site fidelity, that is, they come back to the same location year after year.
- However, it is not known from which exact part of Africa they come from.
- There are two populations of the Pied Cuckoo in India.
- Arrival in Summers
- The pied cuckoo is one of the few species that come to India in the summer.
- Most other migratory species come in winter from colder places like Mongolia, Siberia, northeastern China, Kazakhstan etc.
- The pied cuckoo is one of the few species that come to India in the summer.
- Habitat
- The bird is primarily arboreal, which means that it mostly lives on trees but often forages for food in low bushes, and sometimes even on the ground.
- As it is arboreal nature, its habitat includes forests, well-wooded areas and also bushes in semi-arid regions.
- The bird is primarily arboreal, which means that it mostly lives on trees but often forages for food in low bushes, and sometimes even on the ground.
- Role in Food Webs
- These birds are primarily insectivores and feed on grasshoppers, beetles and are also often seen feeding on fruits and berries from trees.
- The species, like all cuckoos, is a brood parasite.
- It lays its eggs in nests that belong to other birds, preferring similar-sized birds like babblers and bulbuls, as their ‘hosts’.
- The hosts are often distracted by male cuckoos, and the females quickly lay their similar-sized and coloured eggs into the hosts’ nests.
- The hosts then take care of the eggs and the chicks that hatch from them, as their own.
- The parasitic chicks are fed by the hosts and then leave the host parents once they are ready to be on their own.
- It lays its eggs in nests that belong to other birds, preferring similar-sized birds like babblers and bulbuls, as their ‘hosts’.
- These birds are primarily insectivores and feed on grasshoppers, beetles and are also often seen feeding on fruits and berries from trees.
Pied Cuckoos & Indian Monsoons
- The arrival of the pied cuckoos in the Himalayan foothills has traditionally been seen as heralding the onset of the monsoon.
- Indian farmers have traditionally relied on the arrival of the pied cuckoo as a signal to sow seeds, as they know that the monsoon will be upon them soon.
- This signal is never wrong, because the pied cuckoo arrives in India riding the monsoon wind.
- Gathering information about the migratory route of the pied cuckoo can be invaluable for research on “climatic variations” taking place in the world, especially since the species has such a close association with the monsoon.
Pied Cuckoo & Climate Change
- Studying Pied Cuckoo will also give information on the monsoon, changes in the monsoon and monsoon winds, erratic rainfall, seasonal fluctuations, water vapour pressure, etc
- Climatic regimes are governed by temperature and wind and water currents, or the conveyor belts that they result in.
- Extreme weather events take place when there are disruptions in these conveyor belts. The movement of a species such as the pied cuckoo, can indicate any such disruptions.
About WII & IIRS
- Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is Dehradun-based organization under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
- It is India’s apex institute for the study of wildlife science.
- Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) is also in Dehradun and is a constituent unit of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
