Chestnut-winged Cuckoo

The chestnut-winged cuckoo, or red-winged crested cuckoo, is a dark, crested cuckoo about 47cm long. It has glossy dark upperparts, a black head with a long crest, chestnut wings, a rufous throat and a long, graduated glossy black tail whose white tips are inconspicuous, unlike the Jacobin cuckoo's. A white half-collar separates the black cap from the back, and the underparts darken to grey towards the vent. Young birds are dusky with a scaly look to the wing feathers (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds along the Himalayas and migrates south in winter to southern India, Sri Lanka and tropical Southeast Asia, though some populations may stay put. It is usually seen singly and sometimes joins mixed feeding flocks. It is a brood parasite that breeds in summer and is said to lay mainly in the nests of laughingthrushes; its eggs are very round. Its calls include fluty double notes repeated at short intervals. SoIB 2023 lists it as a summer migrant in India with a restricted range, and rates it a Moderate conservation priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).