Animalia Life

Surniculus lugubris
SUBFAMILY
Cuculinae
TAXONOMY
Cuculus lugubris Horsfield, 1821, Java. Four subspecies.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Coucou surnicou d’Asie; German: Drongokuckuck; Spanish: Cuclillo-drongo Asiбtico.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
9.8 in (25 cm), 1.2 oz (35 g). Glossy black, tail square, white bands on undertail coverts and underwing, iris brown, bill black.
DISTRIBUTION
Punjab and lower Himalayas east through Nepal to Assam, from South Central China to Indochina, South India, Sri Lanka, Java, Bali, Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, and North Moluccas.
HABITAT
Open forests and scrubs, bamboo jungle; occasionally gardens and mangroves.
BEHAVIOR
Resident, seasonally migratory and nomadic. The northern subspecies winters on Malaysia.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Caterpillars and other soft insects, sometimes figs.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Brood parasitic; hosts are mainly babblers; nestlings evict the eggs and chicks of hosts.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not globally threatened. Unevenly distributed within its range.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.

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