Listen to the common hawk-cuckoo
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the common hawk-cuckoo
The common hawk-cuckoo is a bird in the family Cuculidae (order Cuculiformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”.
What does the common hawk-cuckoo sound like?
Bird vocalisations are usually divided into songs – longer, often complex phrases used to defend territory and attract mates, sung mostly by males in the breeding season – and calls: short, simple sounds for contact, alarm, begging or flight.
The recordings here are labelled as brainfever. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The common hawk-cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius), popularly known as the brainfever bird, is a medium-sized cuckoo resident in the Indian subcontinent. It bears a close resemblance to the shikra, even in its style of flying and landing on a perch. The resemblance to hawks gives this group the generic name of hawk-cuckoo; like many other cuckoos, these are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of babblers. During their breeding season in summer males produce loud, repetitive three-note calls that are well-rendered as brain-fever, the second note being longer and higher pitched. These notes rise to a crescendo before ending abruptly and repeat after a few minutes; the calling may go on through the day, well after dusk and before dawn.
Related birds in the genus Hierococcyx
More from the family Cuculidae
Common cuckoo
Cuculus canorus
Great spotted cuckoo
Clamator glandarius
Greater coucal
Centropus sinensis
Yellow-billed cuckoo
Coccyzus americanus
Indian cuckoo
Cuculus micropterus
Lesser coucal
Centropus bengalensis
Guira cuckoo
Guira guira
Sirkeer malkoha
Taccocua leschenaultii
African cuckoo
Cuculus gularis
Klaas's cuckoo
Chrysococcyx klaas
Black cuckoo
Cuculus clamosus
Frequently asked questions
What does a common hawk-cuckoo sound like?
You can hear 2 recordings of the common hawk-cuckoo on this page, including its brainfever. Bird vocalisations are usually divided into songs – longer, often complex phrases used to defend territory and attract mates, sung mostly by males in the breeding season – and calls: short, simple sounds for contact, alarm, begging or flight.
Is the common hawk-cuckoo endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the common hawk-cuckoo as “least concern”.
What family does the common hawk-cuckoo belong to?
The common hawk-cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius) belongs to the family Cuculidae in the order Cuculiformes.
Sources & credits
- Brainfever by L. Shyamal – CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Common hawk-cuckoo 01a by Vis M – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q221928 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Common hawk-cuckoo – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by J.M.Garg – CC BY-SA 3.0