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The grey-bellied cuckoo or the Indian plaintive cuckoo (Cacomantis passerinus) is a cuckoo with widespread occurrence throughout Asia.
The grey-bellied cuckoo is one of the smaller cuckoos, at a total length of about 23 cm. Adults are mainly grey with a white lower belly and undertail. There is a white patch on the wings. Some females are dark-barred reddish brown above with an unbarred tail and have strongly dark-barred whitish underparts. The juvenile resembles the female but is of a duller grey.
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The grey-bellied cuckoo breeds in tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka to south China and Indonesia. It has been reported from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It is a short-distance migrant, since birds at more northerly latitudes and on higher ground are summer visitors, leaving for warmer areas in winter. The species prefers light woodland and cultivated areas.
The grey-bellied cuckoo is a brood parasite and uses warblers as hosts. It lays a single egg. Its diet consists of a variety of insects and caterpillars. This is a noisy species, with a persistent and loud pee-pip-pee-pee call, with its tail depressed.
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The Grey-bellied Cuckoo has a broad range across tropical southern Asia, from India and Sri Lanka to southern China and Indonesia. It is known to inhabit countries such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The bird is a short-distance migrant, with populations in the north and at higher elevations moving to warmer areas during the winter months.
The Grey-bellied Cuckoo is a brood parasite, laying its eggs in the nests of warblers. It is known for its persistent and loud vocalizations, often accompanied by a characteristic tail movement, with the tail being held in a depressed position.
The call of the Grey-bellied Cuckoo is a distinctive and repetitive pee-pip-pee-pee, which can be heard across its habitat.
Its diet is composed of a variety of insects and caterpillars, which it actively forages for.
