Sunda Cuckoo
Cuculus lepidus
Silhouette: Nicolas Huet le Jeune and Jean-Gabriel Prêtre (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderCuculiformes (Cuckoos)
- FamilyCuculidae (Cuckoos)
- GenusCuculus (Typical Old World Cuckoos)
- SpeciesCuculus lepidus (Sunda Cuckoo)
About the Sunda Cuckoo
The Sunda cuckoo or Sunda lesser cuckoo (Cuculus lepidus) is a South-east Asian bird belonging to the genus Cuculus in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae. It was formerly classified with the Himalayan cuckoo (C. saturatus) and Oriental cuckoo (C. optatus) in a single species, C. saturatus, but is now often regarded as a separate species based on differences in voice, size and plumage.
It is 29–30 cm long. The upperparts, throat and upper breast are dark grey. The rest of the underparts are buff with black bars. The tail is blackish with white spots. The female also occurs in a rufous form which has reddish-brown upperparts, paler underparts and black barring both above and below. The Himalayan cuckoo and Oriental cuckoo are similar to the Sunda cuckoo but paler with less buff-coloured underparts and narrower black bars.
The song of the Sunda cuckoo usually consists of a short first note followed by two or three longer and lower "hoop" notes. The whole song is higher-pitched than that of the Himalayan cuckoo which gives three or four "hoop" notes.
It was first described as a species in 1845 by the German naturalist Salomon Müller. In 1940 it was included in... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Sunda Cuckoo in Kerinci Seblat National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Kerinci Seblat National Park
Large Hawk Cuckoo
Cuculus sparverioides
Sumatran Ground-Cuckoo
Carpococcyx viridis
Lesser Coucal
Centropus bengalensis
Violet Cuckoo
Chrysococcyx xanthorhynchus
Rusty-breasted Cuckoo
Cacomantis variolosus
Asian Drongo-Cuckoo
Surniculus lugubris
Plaintive Cuckoo
Cacomantis merulinus
Banded Bay Cuckoo
Cacomantis sonneratii
Greater Coucal
Centropus sinensis
Red-billed Malkoha
Zanclostomus javanicus
Little Bronze Cuckoo
Chrysococcyx minutillus
Raffles's Malkoha
Rhinortha chlorophaea
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kinabalu Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 2 | Kerinci Seblat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 3 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 4 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 5 | Sepilok | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Sunda Cuckoo in Kerinci Seblat National Park?
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sunda Cuckoo sighting in Kerinci Seblat National Park, based on 40 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Sunda Cuckoo in Kerinci Seblat National Park?
March has the highest sighting rate for Sunda Cuckoo in Kerinci Seblat National Park in our monthly data.