Jacobin Cuckoo

The Jacobin cuckoo, or pied crested cuckoo, is a slim, medium-sized black-and-white cuckoo with a crest, and the white patch on its black wing makes it unmistakable even in flight. The name refers to its plumage, which recalls the black-and-white robes of Dominican friars. In Africa some populations also have a black phase in which the only white is the wing patch. It is very vocal in the breeding season, with a ringing series of whistled piu-piu notes (Wikipedia, general species account).

It lives mainly in thorny dry scrub and open woodland, avoiding dense forest and the driest country. Birds call from prominent perches and chase each other with slow wingbeats and a pigeon-like clapping flight. It is a brood parasite, mainly of babblers, and its eggs usually match the host's in colour. Its arrival has long been seen as a sign of the coming monsoon, and it is linked with the chataka of Indian myth, a bird said to drink only rain. SoIB 2023 lists it as resident and a summer migrant in India, with a stable current trend and a Low conservation priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).