Pied Cuckoo: Bird that makes monsoon trip to Nepal

Kathmandu, July 4: Like every human has a unique endeavor, each species of bird is unique in its appearance, habits, and habitat. While some species exist in large numbers, others represent only a handful of individuals. 

Every species flies from one place to another, one country to another, and one continent to another but their journey from one continent to another is quite different and difficult. 

Flying over the seas, escaping from predators, they migrate from a very far distance in search of food and to escape the extreme weather in their native land.

As for indicators, the most significant advantage of some birds is that we have so much information about them. One such species of bird is the Pied Cuckoo or Jacobin cuckoo, also called Clamator jacobinus. We call them ‘Jure Koili’ in Nepal, which is also an indicator of the rainy season. 

The Pied Cuckoo, a summer visitor, flies all the way from Sub-Saharan Africa with the monsoon winds. They make their trail with the monsoon winds and come to Nepal and stay here during summer and go back to their native land with the end of the monsoon, said noted ornithologist and Nepal’s Country Director of Zoological Society of London Dr. Hem Sagar Baral.

The bird is also considered an indication of the monsoon rains due to the timing of its arrival, he said. When the first Pied Cuckoo of the season is spotted, the rains can’t be far behind. It is suspected that they make their way from Sub-Saharan Africa with the monsoon clouds to Kerala in India to the coast of Bangladesh and enter Nepal from eastern Nepal, Dr. Baral said.

According to Himalayan Nature, Pied Cuckoo has been assessed as ‘Least Concern’. It is a late summer visitor, uncommon or frequent in some protected areas and very uncommon elsewhere. 

According to various pieces of evidence, the bird spotted here during the monsoon comes all the way from Africa, crossing the Arabian Sea by riding the monsoon winds, Dr. Baral said. Research has also proved that the Pied Cuckoo arrives just in advance of the rains.

Many of the migratory birds come from Sub-Saharan Africa, a journey of more than 5,000 km to Nepal. Others come from Southeast Asia, Northeast India, and South India. They breed here during the summertime, raise babies and again fly back to their native land, he said.

Pied Cuckoos are very clever. They find out some other nests to lay eggs on. The species of birds are brood parasites, which means they do not raise their own eggs but sneak onto another bird’s nest and lay eggs there. A female cuckoo 

removes some other bird’s egg that is already there and lays eggs there and leaves within 10 seconds. Some other female bird thinks that the 

eggs are their own and raise cuckoo chicks. The pied cuckoo is perhaps 

the species that travels the longest distance among the migratory birds, whose journey starts in Sub-Saharan Africa. “All evidence shows that the pied cuckoo comes from Africa, crossing the Arabian Sea by riding the monsoon winds,” Dr. Baral informed. While returning they might find out some other tricks but no research has been done so far.

The species is distributed south of the Sahara in Africa and south of the Himalayas in India. They are also found in Sri Lanka and parts of Myanmar. But the birds that migrate to Nepal are from Africa. The east African population is migratory and moves over Nepal during June and July.  According to Himalayan Nature, the species mainly feeds on caterpillars, including large hairy ones, mealy bugs, beetles, ants, and terrestrial mollusks. The species is threatened by hunting and trapping.