(Clamator jacobinus)
Also called as pied cuckoo or pied crested cuckoo, it is a brood parasite like other cuckoo species. A brood parasite is a bird that fools other birds into raising their young. Cuckoos lay eggs in a crow’s nest and leave the parent crows to raise their young. They are found almost everywhere in India. It is a black and white cuckoo with a distinctive crest. Young birds are born with pinkish skin but changes to brownish - purple within 2 days of hatching. Jacobin cuckoos are sometimes targeted as prey by the sparrow-hawk. In Indian mythology, this bird is known as the chātaka. It was believed to have a beak atop its head and thirsts for the rains. It has also appeared in ancient Indian poems.
