Common Hawk-Cuckoo

Common Hawk-Cuckoo

Cuculus varius

Insufficient data
overall probability at Wilpattu National Park
4 Verified records at Wilpattu National Park
🌅 Crepuscular When it's active at dawn and dusk

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. Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Wilpattu National Park

Indian Cuckoo
LC

Indian Cuckoo

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Cuculus micropterus

10–20% · With luck
Lesser Cuckoo
LC

Lesser Cuckoo

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Cuculus poliocephalus

Insufficient data
Greater Coucal
LC

Greater Coucal

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Centropus sinensis

40–50% · Likely
Asian Koel
LC

Asian Koel

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Eudynamys scolopaceus

20–30% · Possible
Asian Drongo-Cuckoo
LC

Asian Drongo-Cuckoo

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Surniculus lugubris

10–20% · With luck
Grey-bellied Cuckoo
LC

Grey-bellied Cuckoo

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Cacomantis passerinus

10–20% · With luck
Jacobin Cuckoo
LC

Jacobin Cuckoo

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Clamator jacobinus

5–10% · With luck
Chestnut-winged Cuckoo
LC

Chestnut-winged Cuckoo

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Clamator coromandus

<5% · Rare

📅 Monthly Probability

📊

Fewer than 5 records of Common Hawk-Cuckoo at Wilpattu National Park — not enough to chart months honestly.

🌅 When They're Spotted

Most active at dawn and dusk · across all parks (global)

🌅Crepuscular
☀️🌙🌙12am6am12pm6pm12am

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Probability
1 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
50–60%
2 Bandhavgarh National Park 🇮🇳 India
40–50%
3 Periyar National Park 🇮🇳 India
30–40%
4 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
30–40%
5 Mudumalai National Park 🇮🇳 India
30–40%
6 Royal Bardia National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
20–30%
7 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
20–30%
8 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
20–30%
9 Jim Corbett National Park 🇮🇳 India
10–20%
10 Satpura National Park 🇮🇳 India
10–20%
11 Keoladeo National Park 🇮🇳 India
10–20%
12 Ranthambore National Park 🇮🇳 India
10–20%
13 Sundarbans National Park 🇮🇳 India
5–10%
14 Horton Plains National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
5–10%
15 Sinharaja Forest Reserve 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
16 Royal Manas National Park 🇧🇹 Bhutan
<5%
17 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
18 Kaziranga National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
19 Minneriya National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
Insufficient data
20 Eravikulam National Park 🇮🇳 India
Insufficient data
21 Wilpattu National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
Insufficient data
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