Least Concern — widespread but usually uncommon and easily overlooked due to secretive behavior.

38–40 cm in length; a large cuckoo with a long graduated tail, prominent crest, glossy black head, and rich chestnut wings that are very visible in flight.

Migratory species; breeds mainly in Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and surrounding regions.

Winters in southern India and Sri Lanka, especially the Western Ghats and forested regions of peninsular India.

Mainly March to July in its breeding range.

A brood parasite; lays eggs in nests of other birds, especially babblers and laughingthrushes, which raise the chicks.

Prefers dense evergreen forests, moist deciduous forests, forest edges, bamboo thickets, and shaded plantations.

Primarily feeds on insects, especially hairy caterpillars, also consumes beetles, grasshoppers, and other large insects.