Hierococcyx

Hierococcyx or hawk-cuckoos is a genus of birds in the family Cuculidae. They are distributed in South, Southeast, and East Asia. The resemblance to hawks gives this group the generic name of hawk-cuckoos.

They are known to vocalize at their breeding grounds, making identification based on calls easy.

It is sometimes included in the genus Cuculus.

The similarity of these birds to hawks gave rise to an ancient belief that cuckoos transformed themselves into hawks during the winter months, when cuckoos disappeared from Europe.