Going cuckoo over cuckoos in Singapore

Year end is an exciting time for birders and bird photographers in Singapore as bird migration activity started to peak and quite a few exotic species made their way to this little red dot. This period as early as August till March is where migratory bird sightings are regular and often a lot of activity and commotion happens on the social media to reflect new sightings. 

2014 in particular has seen a focused interest in cuckoos with regular sightings of various species. Cuculidae in it's broader family also refer to koels, coucals, malkoha but for this entry, I will focus my article strictly on the genus Cuculus which make up the bulk of species found in tropical southern and southeastern Asia.

Cuckoos generally exhibit dimorphic characteristics and are brood parasites, in which they lay a single egg in the nests of various passerine hosts. The host parents thinking that the cuckoo eggs are one of their own eventually incubate the eggs till they hatch and bring them up as one of their own without realizing how different their kids actually look. Mother nature does have a sense of humor.

The following pics depict the exciting finds over the last few months and the buzz it created within the photographic community. These are essentially my photographic account of the places I visited within Singapore to see these exciting birds.

Chrysococcyx minutillus - female (Little bronze cuckoo)

The little bronze cuckoo is a common resident of Singapore and can be found in most parks and nature reserves. I've personally encountered this small bird in Gardens by the Bay and Neo Tiew Lane 2. Males exhibit a bronze green back with a distinct red ring around the eye. Females tend to be dull and without the red eye ring. Together with the violet cuckoo, they form the smallest of the cuckoo family here.

Cacomantis sepulcralis - male (Rusty-breasted cuckoo)

Cacomantis sepulcralis - female (Rusty-breasted cuckoo)

Rusty-breasted cuckoos are uncommon residents of Singapore. They are not shy at all and will often stay perched on a branch while photographers continue to snap away. They are extremely dimorphic as can be seen in the pictures. Common sightings in matured parks and forests like Neo Tiew Lane 2 and Bidadari Park. They are very active when they pair during the mating season but otherwise seldom actively call in the day.

Cacomantis merulinus - juvenile (Plaintive cuckoo)

The plaintive cuckoo is another uncommon resident of Singapore. I only managed to see this juvenile at Pasir Ris Park just one time and no other sightings since. It inhabits open parks and woodlands and even mangroves. A beautiful bird nevertheless. I've had sightings of the adult male & female however, in various locations up north in Malaysia.

Chrysococcyx xanthorhynchus - male (Violet cuckoo)

This here is a star bird, a very rare resident in Singapore. The ones we sight are winter visitors from Northern Thailand and Myanmar. A gregarious eater, they often hang around small trees which are infested with caterpillars. I did photograph the male twice, once in Neo Tiew Lane 2 from Nov last year as it flew by for a fleeting shot and again this Dec at Jurong Eco Garden where it stayed for more than a month feeding non-stop every morning where caterpillars were available. Once news broke on it's sighting at JEG, over 50 birders congregated to capture this star attraction. Looks like everyone got their lifer.

Cuculus fugax (Hodgson's hawk-cuckoo)

Bidadari Park is a magnet for many rare winter visitors one of which is the Hodgson's hawk-cuckoo. Early sightings in Nov added variety to an already exciting venue for these rarities. A medium sized bird with vertical bars and the yellow eye ring. A beautiful bird, elegant in flight and when it is perched. To tell you the truth I can never differentiate this from the other hawk-cuckoos.

Surniculus dicruroides (Fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo)

Fork-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo was recently split from the similar Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo. It has a deeply forked tail often having a white spot on the back of the head. It is an uncommon resident here and winter visitor. Picture above taken at Neo Tiew Lane 2 and was about the only sighting for me.

Surniculus lugubris (Square-tailed drongo-cuckoo)

Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo has white bars on the vent and outer undertail feathers. The tail is notched with slightly flared tips. It winters in South East Asia and summers in the north up to the Himalayas. Picture shot at Bidadari Park, sometimes getting good views while the bird perches on low branches.

Clamator coromandus (Chestnut-winged cuckoo)

This species in my mind is the sneakiest of them all. Intelligently scanning the environment, it will do its utmost best to confuse photographers, often dashing from branch to branch to avoid being snapped. There has been many sightings of these in Japanese Garden, Bidadari Park and of course Jurong Eco Garden which is where this picture came from. Surprisingly, it's log tail makes this bird look larger than it really is compared to other cuckoos. A beautiful bird and definitely a lifer for me. 

Cuculus micropterus - juvenile (Indian cuckoo)

I managed to catch this juvenile Indian cuckoo a couple of weeks back at Bidadari park. It was skittish, probably just arrived and and was unfamiliar with his winter vacation home. Since then there were several other sightings of adults in the same area on low branches.
 

 Hierococcyx sparverioides (Large hawk-cuckoo)

Probably the honor of last sighting for 2014 goes to the Large hawk-cuckoo. Highly skittish and no photographer has gotten a decent full frame shot of this model in the last few days. A large adult is about the same size a the Besra which this bird mimics morphologically.

There were sightings by other birders of the Banded Bay cuckoo & others, many of which I have seen in other parts of Asia but not Singapore. I do look forward to meeting them in person some time down the road.

All in all, 2014 was a good year for birding in Singapore. However, habitat destruction at the hand of development would only put more pressure on our native and migratory species. I am however hopeful, that nature will have it's means to recover. For the birds I will sorely miss at Bidadari Park, may we met again in other habitats around the Little Red Dot.