Himalayan cuckoo
| Himalayan cuckoo | |
|---|---|
| From Gnathang Valley East Sikkim, India | |
| Calls | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Cuculiformes |
| Family: | Cuculidae |
| Genus: | Cuculus |
| Species: | C. saturatus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Cuculus saturatus Blyth, 1843
| |
The Himalayan cuckoo or Oriental cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus) is a brooding parasitic bird that is part of the Cuculidae family. The species breeds from the Himalayas eastward to southern China and Taiwan. It migrates to southeast Asia and the Greater Sunda Islands for the winter.
It was formerly known as "Oriental cuckoo" and contained several subspecies found over most of Asia. In 2005, it was determined that this "species" consists of three distinct lineages:
- Himalayan cuckoo, Cuculus (saturatus) saturatus
- Oriental cuckoo proper, Cuculus (saturatus) optatus
- Sunda cuckoo, Cuculus (saturatus) lepidus
These are usually seen as distinct species nowadays. As the type specimen of the former "Oriental" cuckoo is a bird of the Himalayan population, the name saturatus applies to the Himalayan cuckoo if it is considered a species.