Hodgson's Hawk-Cuckoo

Hodgson's hawk-cuckoo is a 27–31 cm, hawk-like cuckoo of dense woodland. Adults are slate grey above and pale below, with loose grey and orange-rufous blotches or streaks across the breast. Juveniles are browner above and boldly streaked below; unlike juvenile Malaysian hawk-cuckoos they lack a strong white nape patch. A relatively short tail, narrow penultimate pale tail band and streaked rather than barred flanks help distinguish it from larger hawk-cuckoos (Bird Society of Singapore; Cornell Lab eBird species account).

It breeds from the eastern Himalayas through Myanmar, southern China and Indochina and migrates south to the Thai-Malay Peninsula and Greater Sundas. Birds use forest, forest edge and other well-wooded places, usually foraging secretively within the canopy for invertebrates such as caterpillars. The species is a brood parasite. Its chick evicts the host's young, then exposes gape-coloured skin beneath a wing that mimics an extra mouth and stimulates foster parents to deliver more food (Hong Kong Bird Watching Society; Wikipedia, general species account).