PIED/PIED CRESTED/JACOBIN CUCKOO

Description:

The Jacobin cuckoo, pied cuckoo, or pied crested cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds that is found in Africa and Asia. It is partially migratory and in India, it has been considered a harbinger of the monsoon rains due to the timing of its arrival. It has been associated with a bird in Indian mythology and poetry, known as the chatak (Sanskrit: चातक) represented as a bird with a beak on its head that waits for rains to quench its thirst.

Habitat:

The species is distributed south of the Sahara in Africa and south of the Himalayas in India. Also found in Sri Lanka and parts of Myanmar. Within Africa, there are movements of the species although they are resident in tropical Africa.