The Common Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius) is a relatively common species of hawk-cuckoo seen across the Indian subcontinent. The habitat preferred by the species is described as “Wooded country, in deciduous and semi-evergreen forests, gardens, groves of cultivated trees. In both plains and hill country, below 1000 m in Nepal.” ¹. This is supported by the absence of any photographs or call records on eBird of the species in any hilly region that may possibly exceed 1000m. In contrast, the Large Hawk-Cuckoo Hierococcyx sparverioides, which superficially may seem similar in appearance, breeds “at 900–3500 m in [the] Indian Subcontinent.” ¹

The Common Hawk-Cuckoo differs “from H. sparverioides in smaller size, less distinct barring below, and voice” ¹. The calls of the two similar species of hawk-cuckoos are also different. The song of the Common Hawk-Cuckoo is described as “Loud shrieking “brain fé-ver” or “wee-piwhit”, in runs of 4–6, becoming higher and louder, ending differently and more shrill than H. sparverioides; ...”, whereas the Large Hawk-Cuckoo H. sparverioides is said to give “a loud, shrill screaming whistle, “brain fe-ver” or “pi-PEE-ha”, increasing in speed (check from 1m 12s in the same recording) and pitch to frantic climax, ending as “bee-frever.” ¹ There are two basic differences - the shape of the whistle (that can be quite similar) and the end of the song (completely different). If the Cuckoo makes the last notes of the song beyond the pee-PEE-ha, it becomes easy to tell the two apart.

It is contextual to mention here that there are two filters for Uttarakhand County (State) in eBird - ‘Above 1000m’ and ‘Below 1000m’. Any species is flagged as ‘Rare’ in these filters based on the count of individuals, date of sighting, and elevation of the location where the species was sighted. It has been designed so as to cater to the altitudinal variation that bird distributions in the state exhibit.

On the eBird review queue, 735 records of Common Hawk-Cuckoo are pending review on the ‘Above 1000m’ filter in Uttarakhand, none of which have a photo or call to support the same. Given the literature and available documentary evidence, the chance of the species occurring in most of the interior hill regions is understood to be slim, and it may be advisable to hold these observations back from public output and re-investigate their occurrence. It may also be possible that at least some, if not most, eBirders may have misidentified the similar-sounding whistle of the widespread Large Hawk-Cuckoo in the above 1000m region with that of Common Hawk-Cuckoo.

The purpose of this forum post is to start a conversation about this species, and collectively investigate its status in the mountains. Any comments on distribution in the hills of Uttarakhand (above 1000m) are welcome, as is evidence in the form of photographs, literature, etc. that you may refer to.

Thank you for your valuable contributions.

Thanks and regards,

Abhiram G. Sankar

(eBird Uttarakhand editorial team)

Reference

1. Payne, R. B. (2020). Common Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.cohcuc1.01